NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 4 – The government’s pending bills grew by Sh8.57 billion to Sh524.84 billion in the 2024/25 fiscal year (FY), new data by the Controller of Budget (CoB) shows.
During a similar period last year, Kenya’s pending bills, which include contractor payments, supplier arrears, statutory deductions, and pension obligations, stood at Sh516.27 billion.
“As of 30th June 2025, total national government pending bills stood at Kshs. 524.84 billion, up from Kshs. 516.27 billion as of 30th June 2024. Of this, State Corporations accounted for Kshs. 404.33 billion (77.09%), while MDAs accounted for Kshs. 120.51 billion (22.90%). Figure 3 illustrates the trend in national government pending bills from FY 2021/22 to FY 2024/25,” CoB announced in the latest Budget Implementation for 2024/2025 full year.
High due bills come after the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi in June announced the state’s efforts to resolve long-standing pending bills, revealing that a total of Sh229 billion had been verified and recommended for payment.
While delivering the 2025/2026 budget estimates in Parliament, Mbadi stated that the Pending Bills Verification Committee had received 65,625 claims worth Sh571.6 billion, with 57 percent amounting to Sh522 billion already analyzed.
However, CoB data shows that Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDA’s) pending bills fell by Sh15.94 billion to Sh136.45 billion in the review period.
“The continued accumulation of pending bills has strained cash flows in the economy, particularly for SMEs. This has resulted in liquidity challenges, potential business closures, job losses, and additional government costs through penalties, interest charges, and reduced trust with the private sector.”
