Cabinet approves establishment of pending bills verification committe

By Peter Ochieng

The cabinet on Tuesday approved establishment of a special committee on pending bills.

The pending bills verification committee will be tasked with the auditing of liabilities for the period between 2005 and 2022.

According to a dispatch from State House, Nairobi, the resolution was arrived at during a cabinet meeting chaired by President William Ruto at State House.

National government pending bills since June 2005 to June 2022 stand at Sh481 billion, while counties owe Sh159.9 billion.

Most of those owed by both the national and county governments are suppliers and contractors.

In that regard, the pending bills verification committee will consist of the the Attorney General, the State Department of Roads, the State Department of Public Works, the State Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA).

Others are the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Institute of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).

Upon its formation, the Committee will examine and submit interim reports to the Treasury Cabinet Secretary upon verification.

The Government will then honour the obligation in question.

The aim is establishing integrity of all bills and cushioning small enterprises against liquidity inadequacies.

Additionally, the committee will propose a mechanism to stop future pending bills.

The cabinet arrived at a conclusion that the committee presents its final report within a year.