Nairobi — Unpaid government Pending bills stood at Sh145.5 billion as of January 30, 2024, amid difficulties by the state to clear arrears owed to private and government businesses.

The Pending Bills Verification Committee said today that it has received 1,537 claims from 38 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

Out of the 1,537 claims, 309 are for goods, 995 are for services, 1,197 are for works, and 2 are employee- or labor-related claims.

"In this respect, once the pending bills are verified and confirmed, the public shall be informed of the quantum of the eligible pending bills and the policy recommendations to government in clearing of the bills," the committee said.

The team added that it will engage the respective accounting officers in the process of analyzing the submitted pending bills for clarification.

"We give assurance to the public that the committee will be objective, just and fair in undertaking its mandate and will be guided by the principles of transparency and accountability," it added.

The pending bills verification committee will give its first interim report in March 2024 after completing the process of verification.

As of September 30, 2023, government unpaid bills stood at Sh630.6 billion.

The arrears comprised Sh509.4 billion (73.4 percent) and Sh121.2 billion (26.1 percent) for the state corporations (SCs) and ministries, state departments, and other government agencies.

State Corporations pending bills included payments to contractors, projects, suppliers, unremitted statutory and other deductions, pension arrears for the Local Authorities Pension Trust, and others.