Pending Bills Committee Gets Extension

Nairobi, Kenya — September 25, 2025

The National Treasury has extended the mandate of the Pending Bills Verification Committee through 31 December 2025, marking another delay in its work to audit and validate state liabilities. 

The Latest

• In a Gazette notice issued by Treasury CS John Mbadi, the term of the committee was extended from 1 April 2025to 31 December 2025. 

• The committee, chaired by former Auditor General Edward Ouko, was initially formed in September 2023 and expected to complete its work within a year. 

• As of June 2025, state entities (national and county) owed suppliers over KSh 701.64 billion—with KSh 524.84 billion by national government bodies and KSh 176.80 billion by counties. 

Mandate & Background

• The committee’s role is to scrutinise claims submitted for pending payments that accumulated between 1 June 2005 and 30 June 2022, determine legitimacy, and recommend which bills should be settled. 

• It is also tasked with identifying fraudulent or false claims, proposing reforms to prevent future accumulation, and advising on settlement mechanisms. 

• Previous extensions had already pushed deadlines, indicating difficulty in finalising verification within the original time frame. 

Implications & Risks

• Financiers and contractors: Many businesses awaiting payments will have to wait longer, exacerbating cash-flow challenges, especially for SMEs.

• Fiscal burden: Pending bills are increasingly being viewed as implicit public debt, which places pressure on national budgets and debt management. 

• Credibility & accountability: Repeated delays risk undermining public confidence in the government’s ability to manage its financial obligations transparently.

• Policy bottlenecks: The extension may delay budget planning and implementation of reforms that depend on clarity of obligations.

What’s Next

• The committee must ramp up its validation processes to avoid further delays.

• Treasury and Parliament will need to allocate or reallocate funding to settle verified claims.

• Stakeholders (suppliers, counties, oversight bodies) will watch whether the extension yields substantive progress or another cycle of postponement.