NAIROBI, Kenya — The Senate’s County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) has raised alarm over Nyandarua County’s mounting unpaid bills, warning that the growing debt threatens local businesses, county stability, and the integrity of the devolution framework.
Appearing before the committee, Governor Moses Kiarie Badilisha was urged to urgently prioritise settlement of pending bills after audit records showed the county closed the 2024/25 financial year with Sh5.1 billion in unpaid obligations, against total revenue collections of Sh6.3 billion.
The figure represents a sharp rise from Sh2.9 billion recorded at the end of 2023/24, with Sh2.6 billion of the debt dating back more than three years, including periods before Governor Badilisha took office.
CPAC chairperson Senator Moses Kajwang warned that the ballooning debt exposes the county to serious fiduciary and governance risks, particularly for small and medium enterprises that rely on county contracts.
“Nyandarua is technically insolvent,” Kajwang said.
“Pending bills are the greatest fiduciary risk facing your county. You must prioritise them over other expenditures. The fact that you have captured them in the financial statements means they are payable. You must pay.”
The committee said failure to clear the backlog undermines supplier confidence, disrupts service delivery, and weakens public trust in county financial management.
Beyond pending bills, senators also interrogated other audit concerns for the year ending June 30, 2025, including the Sh1.5 billion JM Kariuki Hospital project, the absence of an internal audit committee, and 1,998 voided transactions valued at Sh1.9 billion.
Governor Badilisha disputed the Sh5.1 billion figure, insisting that the actual pending bills stand at Sh1.4 billion.
He argued that the higher amount included Sh1.6 billion for May and June 2025 salaries, which were paid in July after the county received disbursements from the National Treasury.
The Governor told the committee that Sh200 million had already been paid toward pending bills in the first half of the current financial year.
He also said Sh998 million was transferred to the Ministry of Defence after the JM Kariuki Hospital project was handed over to the national government.
On claims of bills lacking supporting documentation, Badilisha said some suppliers had failed to come forward to claim payments.
“In some cases, suppliers have never come forward to claim their funds,” he said, adding that the county had allocated Sh347 million in the current budget to settle part of the backlog.
However, Senator Kajwang questioned why undocumented bills remained in the county’s books, noting that proper accounting standards require unsupported claims to be written off.
CPAC Vice Chairperson Senator Johnes Mwaruma demanded a clear, time-bound settlement plan to ensure all verified obligations are cleared.
In a decisive move, the committee directed the Office of the Controller of Budget to block withdrawals from the County Revenue Fund until Nyandarua County addresses the pending bills, signalling that immediate corrective action is required.
Under Article 201 of the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act, public funds must be managed responsibly, transparently, and in a manner that safeguards suppliers and service delivery.
The Senate said it will continue monitoring the county’s compliance, warning that failure to act could trigger further sanctions and referrals to investigative agencies.
