The Kisii County Government will not pay pending bills in excess of Ksh.1.2 billion owed to contractors as they have been classified as illegal.

Kisii Governor Simba Arati made the revelations on Thursday after receiving a report on the pending bills. 

The report, launched three months after a task force was mandated to look into Ksh.1.6 billion pending bills owed by the Kisii County government, raised questions on the debt owed to contractors in the 2013/2014 and 2021/2022 financial years.

Out of the Ksh. 1.6 billion pending bills accrued over the last 10 years only 235 million will be processed according to the taskforce.

"We could only come up with bills worth Ksh.235 million which can only be paid without queries. After careful scrutiny with the files perused up to 5 times, there is need for an audit before the payment is released," Aaron Nyakundi the Chairman of Kisii County's Taskforce on pending bills said.

The committee’s findings showed that Ksh.1.2 billion worth of pending bills are not warranted as the tendering process of various county government projects including the construction of ECDE, schools stadiums, and water and sanitation projects, are not complete or up to standard but the contactors certified that the projects are 100% complete.

"Pesa zafaa kulipwa ni millioni 235 na zile tunaweza lipa baada ya uchunguzi wa dhati ni 130, pesa haziwezi lipwa ni 1.2 billion. Hii ndio pesa haiwezi lipwa na county," said Govrnor Arati.

The Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o had in February flagged all counties over pending bills amounting to Ksh.161.36 billion.

Governor Arati says the county government will clean up its pending bills and clear the amount in due course.

"I promise the contractors that they will receive their funds fast. This was not a witch hunt exercise by my administration but a deliberate move to distinguish genuine pending bills from suspected dubious claims so that the taxpayers get value for money," he said.

He however noted that county officials working between 2013 -2022 who will be found culpable of inflating the bills or having played a role in the illegal tendering process will be prosecuted.