Auditor General Declares Sh107B County Bills Ineligible

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has declared Sh107 billion pending bills owed to contractors and suppliers in the counties ineligible.

According to the Auditor General, the bills are not supported by any documentation such as contracts, saying out of Sh153 billion pending bills declared by the county governments, only Sh45.5 billion were proven free for payments.

The revelation was made by Deputy President William Ruto as he chaired the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council on Tuesday.

“The auditor general has determined that Sh107 billion is not payable. That is a colossal amount of money and many people are affected,” he said.

The Controller of budget Margaret Nyakang’o cautioned suppliers against taking shortcuts and urged them to ensure they have proper documentation of any given work.

“Our suppliers need to be careful and ensure their documentation is proper even as they are given work by the counties,” she said.

Unscrupulous county staff have been notorious of siphoning funds from county kitties through fictitious pending bills.

The fate of genuine suppliers and contractors now hangs in the balance awaiting the National Treasury to consult the office of Attorney General Paul Kihara to determine the issue of the “ineligible debt” as recommended by the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council.

“We have agreed that the National Treasury working with the Attorney General’s office to work out a mechanism that will enable us to have a predetermine mechanisms that will help us sort out these bills.” DP William Ruto said.

Counties Affected by Ineligible Bills

Nairobi, Kiambu, Mombasa, Wajir, Machakos and Tana River counties have the most pending bills that have been flagged as  “ineligible” by the Auditor general.

Nairobi’s debt increased to Sh84.01 billion from Sh54.32 billion in June last year, Kiambu’s Sh5.12 billion, Mombasa’s at Sh4.29 billion and Wajir’s at Sh3.82 billion. Machakos Sh2.80 billion and Tana River Sh2.41 billion.