- Kimemiah asked government agencies to intervene. She said President Uhuru Kenyatta had also been pushing for the payment of all pending bills in the county.
- The public participation is expected to continue till Thursday.
Image: image: John Kamau
The Kiambu county Public Accounts and Investment Committee has begun a public participation exercise this week to address pending bills.
Former Roads executive Juliet Kimemiah said the exercise has given hope to those who are owed by the county, saying previous attempts by suppliers to get paid for services delivered have been futile.
Kimemiah alleged that the county had made a decision not to pay any pending bills, with anyone approaching Governor James Nyoro for compensation being dismissed.
Last year February, Nyoro in a reshuffl sacked two executives: Kimemiah (Roads) and Ng'ang'a Kang'ethe (Education).
The former executive said the public participation forum would lead to an amicable solution between the county and its creditors, who she said, have suffered for long due to non-payment of services delivered to the county.
Kimemiah asked government agencies to intervene. She said President Uhuru Kenyatta had also been pushing for the payment of all pending bills in the county.
“What I would like to see as an outcome of this is the Auditor General, Controller of Budget and also the Presidential Delivery Unit form a special task force to investigate Kiambu government,” she said.
Kimemiah said that other officials, including Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi, who have attempted to perform their oversight duties, have faced resistance.
“Every time the senator tries to do his work, he is met by brutal force and accused of wanting to vie for governor.”
She asked the senator and the county assembly to lobby for the formation of a task force, arguing that it would provide a lasting solution to the challenge.
Pending bills have been a sore wound plaguing not just Kiambu county, but other counties as well. Other entities with bills include government ministries and state corporations.
This led to a push by the National Treasury Cabinet Treasury Ukur Yattani in his 2021 budget speech to prioritise the settlement of the bills.
Yattani said there will be consequences for those who do not clear the debts owed to suppliers.
Kimemiah, who is aspiring to be the governor for Kiambu, said that the best way to settle the county’s debts is by engaging in the Public-Private Partnership funding model.
This, she said, will allow allocations to the county from the exchequer, to be used for settling pending bills.
She said the model allows a private investor to provide a government service or build infrastructure for public use.
The investor then gets to operate the infrastructure and charge the public until he or she (the investor) earns profits. Later the investor can hand over the infrastructure to the government.
An example of such a model is the expressway linking Mlolongo in Machakos county and Westlands in Nairobi, through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, which is currently under construction.
Investors on the project will set up toll stations at strategic points along the expressway and charge those who wish to use the road up to a time when they get a return on their investment.
The model is expected to ease debt pressure off the government as it works towards providing quality infrastructure for the public.
The public participation is expected to continue till Thursday. Members of the public have been asked to give their submission to the county assembly either physically or via email.
(edited by Amol Awuor)