The Kenyan government has ordered all ministries, agencies and state corporations to submit records of unpaid bills accumulated over the past 17 years to a special verification committee, according to a notification issued Wednesday.
The Pending Bills Verification Committee aims to “scrutinize and analyze” pending bills dating back to June 2005 in order to determine which are legitimate and make recommendations on settling them, the notice said.
“In view of the foregoing, you are required to submit the following information for your respective Ministry/State Department/Agency/State Corporations/Public Universities/Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies/Institutions,” the notification read.
Information requested includes all existing pending bills for both recurrent and development expenditures, procurement and contracting documents, reasons the bills remain unpaid and any other necessary details.
Accounting officers have been instructed to provide the information in a prescribed format by scheduled dates. Meetings with the committee may also be required.
“The Committee has strict timelines to complete its work, it would be appreciated if the information requested in this public notice is submitted to reach the Committee on the stipulated date,” the notice stated.
Committee chairman Edward Ouko emphasized the need for cooperation and timely responses.
“Each page of the hard copy submitted should be paginated, serialized and countersigned by the Accounting Officers of the respective entities,” he wrote.
The pending bills verification process aims to address concerns over accumulation of unpaid government obligations and allegations of fraud.
“Identify any cases where there may have been corrupt, fraudulent and false claims against the Government and make appropriate recommendations to the relevant Government agencies,” the committee’s mandate stipulates.
In addition to scrutinizing pending bills, the committee has been tasked with recommending measures to avoid similar backlogs in the future.
The notification comes amid rising public scrutiny of government spending and transparency in Kenya. Analysts say the pending bills audit demonstrates willingness for reform, but success will depend on follow-through and concrete actions.
