The National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has put the Executive Office of the President on the spot over unpaid bills totalling Ksh 14.53 billion, raising fresh concerns about the government’s growing backlog of pending obligations and its impact on public finances.
The issue emerged during a PAC session held at Parliament Buildings, where officials from the Executive Office of the President appeared before lawmakers to respond to concerns raised by the Auditor-General in the 2023/2024 financial year audit report.
Led by Butere MP and PAC Chairperson Tindi Mwale, the committee questioned Principal Administrative Secretary Arthur Osiya over outstanding liabilities that remained unpaid during the financial year under review and were carried forward to the 2024/2025 financial year.
According to the Auditor-General, the Executive Office of the President reported pending bills totalling Ksh 14,528,324,070. The audit warned that failure to settle such obligations within the financial year in which they arise could disrupt future government programmes and place additional pressure on subsequent budgets.
“Failure to settle bills in the year to which they relate adversely affects the implementation of the subsequent year’s budgeted programmes, as the outstanding bills form a first charge on that year’s budget provision,” the Auditor-General noted.
In his submission to the committee, Osiya explained that the bulk of the debt was inherited from the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), which was wound up in 2022 and whose functions were transferred back to Nairobi County and the national government.
He told lawmakers that Ksh 14.14 billion of the pending bills originated from NMS, while Ksh 386.1 million related directly to the Office of the President headquarters during the 2023/2024 financial year.
However, members of PAC were not fully convinced by the explanations provided. The committee noted that several responses lacked adequate documentation and supporting evidence, making it difficult to verify the status of the outstanding claims.
Lawmakers demanded further clarification on the nature of the debts, the verification process and the timelines for settlement. They also sought details on measures being taken to prevent the accumulation of new pending bills.
Mwale subsequently directed the Executive Office of the President to furnish the committee with additional documents to support its responses and allow a more thorough examination of the audit findings.
The concerns come at a time when pending bills remain one of the biggest financial challenges facing the government. Recent reports show that unpaid obligations across ministries, departments and state agencies continue to pile up, affecting suppliers, contractors and service delivery. PAC has, in recent months, questioned several government agencies over billions of shillings in unpaid bills flagged by the Auditor-General.
The National Treasury has already acknowledged the growing burden of pending bills and recently announced plans to allocate Ksh68 billion in the 2026/2027 budget to settle verified claims owed to suppliers and contractors. Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said the move is intended to reduce financial pressure on businesses and improve government efficiency.
Data released by the Controller of Budget earlier this month showed that pending bills across government entities had reached Ksh 465.87 billion by March 2026, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing public institutions. The report warned that delayed payments continue to affect project implementation, service delivery and the operations of businesses that depend on government contracts.
The latest scrutiny of the Executive Office of the President is expected to continue once the additional documents requested by PAC are submitted. Lawmakers say the review is necessary to establish the legitimacy of the claims and ensure accountability in the management of public funds.
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