Counties must pay bills - Daily Nation

Nearly 10 counties owe suppliers a whopping Sh13 billion in bills that have been pending for years. This is a problem that appears to have defied efforts even at the highest level to resolve it. Not long ago, President Uhuru Kenyatta instructed the National Treasury to work with the counties to clear the bills. However, the Controller of Budget shows that it is far from over.

The culprits include Nairobi City County, which owes a Sh7.1 billion. It is closely followed by Narok, which has failed to pay suppliers Sh943 million. Also top on this list of shame are Garissa, Mombasa, Kisumu, Vihiga, Kirinyaga and Turkana. Some counties dispute the amounts, hence the need for verification. But that should be an ongoing process to ensure that counties get value for money.

However, the President's intervention was largely because the failure to pay the bills adversely affects cash flow in the economy.

Many of the suppliers run small-scale businesses that have taken out loans to do business with the counties. Some have seen their assets auctioned for failure to repay their loans.

Businesses have collapsed, causing job losses, and yet devolution is a vehicle through which substantive resources have been moved from the centre to the grassroots. Indeed, there has been some remarkable growth and progress right across the country where the county leaderships have been equal to the task.

Some of the reasons cited for the huge pending bills are unrealistic budgets and inflated costs. There is also the devolution of corruption, with corruption cartels replicating what happens in the national government. The good news, though, is that suppliers in 23 counties had all their legitimate pending bills paid by April 20.

There is a need, therefore, for greater scrutiny to ensure that genuine business thrives and counties live within their means.