• Commission says 50 per cent of counties may get new administrators as governors serve their second and final terms.
•New county government administrations are typically non-committal on paying historical pending bills.
Image: WILFRED NYANGARESI
It's a rare governor who is eager to pay his predecessors's pending bills as they limit his or her own agenda.
The Commission on Revenue Allocation has urged governors to settle all pending bills before the general election, citing problems with unpaid bills saddling new administrations.
CRA chairperson Jane Kiringai on Tuesday said incoming administrations may not prioritise pending bills of Sh11.4 billion as at end of June.
“Some governors are serving their final term in office, therefore, the 2022 election is likely to see about 50 per cent change in county leadership," he CRA boss said.
CRA said judging from past trends, the majority of the counties with high invalid pending bills had a change of government in 2017.
The commission cited Nairobi, Nakuru, West Pokot, Laikipia, Vihiga, Kitui, Nyandarua, Tana River, Kirinyaga and Kisumu counties, among others.
“Pending bills in most counties are historical. Pending bills ineligible for payment are a cause for concern since they are a sign of imprudent financial management,” Kiringai said.
Some counties inherited pending bills from the defunct local authorities, others from the first county governments while others have accumulated bills since 2018.
Kiringai has called on Parliament, the National Treasury and the Office of the Controller of Budget to establish control measures to ensure pending bills are paid on time.
Nairobi has the highest pending bills of Sh6.6 billion, translating to 20.2 per cent of the county’s total revenue.
Other counties with high pending bills as of June 30, are Mombasa (Sh1.6 billion), Isiolo (Sh567 million), Vihiga (Sh422 million) and Kirinyaga (Sh422 million).
Those with more than Sh200 million unpaid obligations include Migori (Sh257 million), Turkana (Sh246 million), Narok (Sh226 million) and Machakos (Sh219 million).
Bomet owes suppliers and contractors Sh190 million, Kiambu (Sh186 million), Siaya (Sh109 million), West Pokot (Sh98 million) and Meru (Sh52 million).
Samburu, Nakuru, Garissa, Tharaka Nithi, Uasin Gishu, Kisii, Bungoma, Mandera, Trans Nzoia, Kisumu, and Busia have bills ranging from Sh48 million to Sh1 million.
Kiringai raised concerns that significant amounts of pending bills countrywide have been classified as ineligible for payment by the Office of the Auditor General.
According to a report by the auditor general, the ineligible pending bills countrywide amounted to Sh31.6 billion as of June 30.
“This magnitude of pending bills should concern the senate, county assemblies and the Treasury due to their oversight responsibilities,” Kiringai said.
Nairobi tops the list of ineligible pending bills at Sh11.2 billion, followed by Nakuru (Sh2.1 billion), Mombasa (Sh1.8 billion), Kwale (Sh1.6 billion), Homa Bay (Sh1.4 billion), West Pokot (Sh1.24 billion) and Turkana (Sh1.1 billion).
Meanwhile, CRA has assigned a new expenditure ceiling of Sh2.04 trillion for the national government for the financial year ending June 2023 at, with the agriculture sector spending reduced by Sh11.2 billion.
Spending caps for the education sector have been raised by Sh12 billion, taking the lion's share of the allocations at Sh516.2 billion.
Energy, ICT, and infrastructure spending have been capped at Sh360 billion, Public Administration and the International Relations sector at Sh348 billion.
The governance, justice, law and order sector — which includes the Interior Ministry, Attorney General, the Judiciary, among other constitutional bodies — will make do with Sh234 billion, an increment of Sh17 billion compared with the current fiscal year.
The Health expenditure cap is to increase by Sh2 billion to Sh123.3 billion, while the economic and commercial affairs sector would be allowed to spend up to Sh24 billion – upwards of Sh4 billion.
Ceilings for environment protection and the natural resources sector has been set at Sh110 billion, National Security and Defence at Sh189.7 billion and social protection at Sh75.7 billion.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris