County governments owe contractors over Ksh.100B KNCCI

Kenya National Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) President Richard Ngatia says county governments owe contractors over Ksh.100 billion in unsettled debts.

Speaking in Kirinyaga County on Sunday, Mr. Ngatia said while the national government had payed its pending bills, most counties were yet to pay contractors for various projects and supply of items.

The directive for public institutions to settle pending bills was issued by President Kenyatta during this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations.

Kenyatta said that pending payments have negatively affected many businesses, particularly those whose bulk of capital is now locked in non-payment, hence the need to clear them.

The head of state instructed that the pending bills be paid before the end of the last Financial Year on June 30, 2019.

“To alleviate this situation, I hereby direct that all Accounting Officers pay and settle all pending payments that do not have audit queries, on or before 30th June 2019. Further, I direct the National Treasury to secure full compliance of this directive. I also call upon County Governments to follow suit,” he stated.

Mr. Ngatia is now appealing to the Council of Governors to pay the outstanding bills to enable trader’s country wide continue with their work.

He pointed out that some traders were depressed after their properties were auctioned by banks from which they had obtained loans.

“On these pending bills, we believe that there could be a structured way on how they can be settled especially those that are over a year or two so that we can be able to support that business community” said Ngatia.

This comes even as county governments continue to face a financial crisis following a disagreement between the national assembly and senate over allocation of revenue.