County procurement officials will personally compensate taxpayers for losses from court cases in which a devolved unit has been sued over pending bills.
The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) is currently scrutinising scores of suits on bills that counties have incurred due to legal breaches by officials, setting the stage for landmark reparations by implicated staff.
Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Director-General Patrick Wanjuki.
Photo credit: File I Nation Media Group
Besides the scrutiny that started in February this year, PPRA has also created a Complaints Management System (CMS) through which aggrieved contractors and suppliers file complaints on all debts that the counties have failed to offset within the agreed timelines.
Pending bills have over the years become a nightmare for contractors and businesses that have delivered goods and services to the devolved units. Data shows that dues hit Sh706 billion in December 2024, with counties accounting for Sh182 billion, and the national government Sh524 billion. This has affected firms which have been forced to borrow in a bid to stay afloat besides laying off staff and halting expansion plans.
“Where it is established that public resources have had to be used to pay costs unrelated to planned and budgeted contractual obligations, such costs will be borne by the responsible officers who will be surcharged by the procuring entity for the loss resulting from their actions or inaction,” PPRA says in a circular.
Some county officials demand bribes from suppliers before they can be paid.
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The authority said some officials have displayed brazen impunity by willingly declining to settle the bills and instead daring the contractors to go to court.
“Some procuring entities have gone to the extent of asking such suppliers, contractors, and service providers to go to court if they so wished, thereby negatively affecting the image of the government.” The surge in pending bills by counties comes amid claims that some officials demand bribes to approve payments. Those (contractors) who fail to play ball are forced to endure prolonged and unfair payment delays.
Pending bills by counties are a nightmare for businesses, despite repeated directives by the National Treasury to prioritise their settlement.
“Further, such delays have aggravated negative social impact such as auctioning of business assets, loss of livelihoods, family’s breakdown, mental wellbeing of the affected suppliers and in some, cases of depression and attempted suicides,” PPRA added.
Legally, payment of pending bills is the first charge on the counties’ budgetary allocations. The payments should be done on a first come first serve basis.
