Opposition chief Raila Odinga has proposed a new Bill on prompt payment of suppliers to cut off the graft cartels and save vulnerable contractors from “Jubilee extortion”.
Raila said the Prompt Payment Bill 2016 would compel the government to pay all suppliers within 30 days and whittle down the power of public officers on invoices.
“The Bill is in response to a really dire situation confronting those who supply goods and services to the government,” Raila said yesterday.
“The power exercised by public officers over the settlement of invoices is currently absolute and has resulted in businessmen being blackmailed into paying royalties on every pending payment due to them. Every signature required to approve payment is a toll station.”
The Cord supremo spoke amid an outcry by over 200 suppliers owed over Sh1.5 billion by the Kenyatta International Convention Centre for contracts and supplies during the World Trade Organisation meeting last December.
Two weeks ago, the suppliers wrote a lengthy letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta, seeking his intervention and lifting the lid on what they said is an entrenched graft network in the management of the iconic conference centre.
In an emotional letter, the suppliers said they face financial ruin, as banks go after their property.
Yesterday, Raila said tens of suppliers are being harassed and have been reported to the Credit Reference Bureau by the banks from which they borrowed money to finance government tenders.
According to Raila, the Bill sponsored by ODM in Parliament is among steps his party is taking to tame runaway graft without waiting for President Kenyatta.
“I told Kenyans we need to take control of our destiny as we did in the major reforms that have been achieved in Kenya. I remind our people that there is no change that we have achieved in this country because the government gave it to us,” Raila stated.
The new law seeks to make it mandatory that all questions about an invoice must be raised within 30 days and communicated to the supplier.
The Bill also states that such queries shall be resolved within 10 days from the date they are raised and the resolution communicated to the supplier.
Every public authority that is procuring, the Bill states, shall establish an internal appeals system to review all decisions made not to settle an invoice.
“A supplier in respect of whom a decision not to pay has been communicated shall have a right to demand the internal appeal mechanism to review the decision not to pay,” Raila told the press.
In the Bill, ODM proposes that all internal appeals mechanism must be reached within 10 days from the day they are submitted by the supplier for review.
The Bill also proposes the establishment of a Public Invoices Settlement Tribunal to hear appeals from any decision made by internal appeals mechanism of any public authority not to pay invoices.
“A supplier whose appeal to the Tribunal is dismissed shall have recourse to the Court of Appeal on a final appeal,” Raila said.