Nairobi county slashed pending bills by Sh35bn - CoB report

Nairobi City County has registered major progress in tackling its long-standing debt burden, reducing its pending bills by nearly Kshs.35 billion within the last financial year, according to the Controller of Budget’s latest report.

The County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report shows that as of 30 June 2024, Nairobi’s pending bills stood at Sh121.78 billion — Sh121.26 billion under the County Executive and Sh513.92 million under the County Assembly.

During the 2024/25 financial year, the County Executive cleared Sh7.56 billion in debts, with Sh5.84 billion going to recurrent programmes and Sh1.72 billion to development programmes.

The County Assembly settled Sh283.17 million, largely on recurrent activities.

Following reconciliation, negotiations with creditors, and arbitration through legal processes, Nairobi’s outstanding pending bills dropped to Sh86.77 billion by June 30, 2025.

This marks one of the sharpest declines in the city’s debt stock in recent years.

“The County Executive submitted a summarised pending bills payment plan and committed to paying Sh800 million. In practice, it surpassed this pledge, settling bills worth Sh7.56 billion. This reflects an enhanced focus on discipline and prioritisation in the settlement of obligations,” the Controller of Budget noted in the report.

The ageing analysis of the pending bills further shows that Nairobi is gradually clearing its most pressing obligations.

Out of the total debt, Sh12.61 billion (14.5 per cent) is less than one year old, while Sh74.15 billion relates to arrears older than three years, much of it tied to salaries, statutory deductions, and staff claims accumulated over several administrations.

Governor Johnson Sakaja has consistently argued that pending bills are a historical challenge, but one his administration is determined to resolve.

Speaking on a local radio station on Thursday, he explained that part of the reduction came from an audit of claims, some of which were found to be irregular.

“We have already reduced them by close to Kshs.39 billion and will continue with the review process,” he said, noting that legal bills are being reassessed and more county legal officers employed to minimise outsourcing.

Sakaja stressed that the problem has built up over decades.

 “As we make Nairobi work, we must also resolve past issues, because Nairobi didn’t start in 2022,” he said.

The Controller of Budget report credits Nairobi’s progress to stronger revenue mobilisation, improved budget absorption, and deliberate allocation of resources to debt repayment.

Analysts say the reduction not only relieves long-suffering suppliers and contractors but also injects liquidity back into the city’s economy, unlocking stalled projects and building investor confidence.