Eight one contractors who were awarded contracts worth nearly Sh1.1 billion by Kitui government will have to wait longer to receive their pay.
County acting Treasury executive Ben Katungi they are not able to pay because all the documents related to the contracts were carted away by EACC sleuths who are investigating the way the contracts were awarded.
The road works and drift contracts in question were awarded in 2015-16 but became a subject of investigations by the EACC.
Representatives of the contractors on Tuesday, however, said the EACC had long cleared the Kitui government to pay them.
Through a statement by the Kitui Contractors Association and read to the media by Sylvester Kimasyu, the businessmen demanded immediate payment.
They said they are undergoing "serious psychological and financial trauma".
Katungi downgraded the amount owed by the 81 contractors to about Sh650 million and not Sh1.1 million as claimed but said the businessmen will have to wait until EACC delivered the documents related to the contracts and clear them for payment.
During the Tuesday press conference, the chairperson of the Kitui Contractors Association Nelly Mutisya issued an ultimatum to the county to pay up within a week lest they face "the mother of all demonstrations".
“Personally, I had my good car and a developed plot acquired by a bank and were sold off because I could not pay,” Mutisya said.
The association secretary Mbondo Mwania, who is disabled, said most of the contractors had acquired bank loans which they are unable to service, resulting in their property being actioned.
“On my part, I got a Sh5 million loan from KCB and I am struggling to pay. The balance now stands at Sh2 million,” he said.
