Devolution ministry top in pending bills

The State department of Devolution accounted for the biggest share of the Sh16.7 billion worth of unpaid bills among national government entities in the fiscal year to June 2017.

The National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) singled out six ministries which incurred pending bills totalling Sh12.41 billion, with the rest owed by other agencies.

The committee, chaired by Ugunja MP OpiyOpiyo Wandayio Wandayi, said the Ministry of Devolution failed to clear Sh3.3 billion, the highest among ministries and national government entities that did not clear their debts.

It was followed by the State department for Public Service and Youth and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) with pending bills of Sh2.96 billion and Sh2.68 billion respectively.

Others holding suppliers’ and contractors’ money include the departments of housing and urban development (Sh1.3 billion), department of broadcasting and telecommunications (Sh1.12 billion) and department of livestock (Sh1.1 billion).

“The pending bills were rolled over from the financial year 2015/2016,” said PAC, which scrutinised the audited books of accounts for the national government for the financial year 2016/17.

“The pending bills are occasioned by various factors mainly delays/non-release of exchequers, variations of estimated costs of projects by the accounting officers, austerity measures enforced through budget rationalisation in the supplementary budget estimates,” PAC report says.

Other causes of the pending bills were listed as weak budget controls including unrealistic annual cash flow plans, and introduction of new projects in the course of the financial year.

The total amounts of reported pending bills however decreased compared to Sh20.5 billion in the 2015/2016 fiscal year.

The committee observed that the Treasury had failed to explain why the bills were not cleared as a first charge during the respective years but continued to be rolled over, over the years with some dating as far back as 2011.

PAC said failure to settle bills during the year distorts the financial statements for the year and adversely affects the provisions of the subsequent year.

The MPs said budget rationalisation through numerous supplementary budget estimates in the course of the year was also a reason for accumulating pending bills.

PAC has recommended that Parliament reviews the legislative framework governing the processing and frequencies of supplementary budgets with a view to amending the PFM Act, 2012 and its attendant regulations.