Total Pending Bills in Kenya – County and National Government

A pending bill is an unpaid invoice or bill that a government entity owes to suppliers, contractors, and service providers for services and goods that have already been received.

Pending bills remain unpaid beyond their due date and can arise from budgetary constraints, disputes over billing, administrative delays, and inefficiencies in processing payments.

In Kenya, both the national government and the county governments have pending bills.

Quick Facts

1. The national government's pending bills as of 30^th June 2024 were Ksh 516.27 billion.^[1]
2. The county government's pending bills as of 30^th June 2024 were Ksh 182 billion.^[2]
3. Total pending bills in Kenya as of 30^th June 2024 were Ksh 698.27 billion.
4. Nairobi County's pending bills as of 30^th June 2024 were Ksh 118.4 billion.

Total pending bills by the national government

As of 30^th June 2024, the national government of Kenya recorded pending bills amounting to Ksh 516,268,064,791.

Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) cumulatively owed Ksh 136.5 billion in unsettled bills, which was 26% of the total pending bills.

Pending bills in recurrent expenditure by MDAs was 20% of the total pending bills and amounted to Ksh 100.7 billion.

Development expenditure was 7% of total pending bills, amounting to Ksh 35.7 billion.

Pending bills by state corporations and State-Owned Enterprises

State corporations and State-Owned Enterprises cumulatively owed Ksh 379.8 billion in unsettled bills, which was 74% of the total pending bills owed by the national government.

Pending bills on recurrent expenditure by SOEs accounted for 28% of the total pending bills and amounted to Ksh 144.8 billion.

Pending bills on development expenditure by SOEs accounted for 46% of the total pending bills by the national government and amounted to Ksh 235 billion.

List of pending bills by State Owned Enterprises in Kenya Shillings

1. Consumables and General Supplies       37,826,960,450
2. Pension Arrears      33,023,104,435
3. Pay as You Earn (PAYE)    19,034,497,235
4. Unremitted Sacco Deductions      2,527,183,117
5. Unremitted Staff Loan Deductions          2,232,413,341
6. National Social Security Fund      640,932,445
7. National Hospital Insurance Fund           76,452,756
8. Others          49,454,494,443

County governments' pending bills

As of 30th June 2024, counties recorded pending bills worth Ksh 182 billion. These bills cumulatively include those owed by county executives and county assemblies.

The largest share of pending bills, 98.8%, was owed by county executives, amounting to Ksh 179.9 billion.

County assemblies owed 1.2% of all pending bills amounting to Ksh 2.1 billion.

Nairobi County accounted for 65.1% of all pending bills, with a total of Ksh 118.4 billion in unsettled bills. Next was Kiambu, with 3.6% of all pending bills and a total of Ksh 6.5 billion in unsettled bills.

Pending bills in the counties have been increasing

In the Financial Year 2013/2014, when counties became the devolved units of national governance, total pending bills in that year amounted to Ksh 3.7 billion.

However, pending bills have increased consistently throughout the years, reaching Ksh 113.9 billion in 2020 and further increasing to Ksh 182 billion in 2024.

The chart below shows the trend in total pending bills in the counties for every year since the start of devolution in 2013/2014 to 2023/2024.

List of pending bills by county as of 30^th June 2024 in Kenya Shillings

1. Nairobi          118,440,282,648
2. Kiambu         6,488,269,498
3. Mombasa      4,440,572,242
4. Machakos     4,199,480,185
5. Bungoma      3,521,216,486
6. Kisumu         3,147,399,814
7. Kajiado         2,442,973,689
8. Kisii    2,370,505,561
9. Wajir    2,330,317,671
10. Mandera       2,226,355,164
11. Kwale 2,133,588,127
12. Tana River    2,125,117,944
13. Kakamega    1,819,665,853
14. Embu 1,816,290,930
15. Taita-Taveta 1,756,525,121
16. Laikipia         1,648,049,391
17. Vihiga           1,466,280,047
18. Murang'a      1,460,594,862
19. Busia 1,420,592,427
20. Trans Nzoia 1,282,360,141
21. Kilifi    1,218,557,792
22. Kericho         1,134,713,695
23. Marsabit       1,126,045,779
24. Isiolo 1,123,669,297
25. Nakuru         1,102,478,645
26. Migori 864,390,028
27. Narok 764,639,834
28. Uasin Gishu 751,822,188
29. Turkana        749,858,462
30. Tharaka-Nithi          740,963,860
31. Homa Bay     739,120,512
32. Makueni        672,044,195
33. Meru   586,823,947
34. Kirinyaga      581,246,055
35. West Pokot   518,080,980
36. Bomet           448,767,847
37. Kitui    393,976,787
38. Garissa         377,940,248
39. Baringo         369,250,531
40. Siaya 303,909,780
41. Nyandarua    295,163,707
42. Samburu       210,978,498
43. Nandi 177,970,161
44. Nyamira        142,231,422
45. Lamu 39,534,564
46. Nyeri 7,393,013
47. Elgeyo Marakwet     1,492,200

See Also

1. Development and recurrent expenditure by county governments
2. National government expenditure on foreign travel – 2024
3. National government expenditure on education – 2024

References