Senate teams gives kudos to Arati for clearing all verified pending bills

The Standing Committee on Finance and Budget has hailed Kisii Governor Simba Arati for paying all verified pending bills.

This comes after the Committee learnt that the County Executive of Kisii formed a Pending Bills Committee in November 2022 to review outstanding obligations for the 2021/2022 Financial Year.

The committee verified the claims and found Sh231,443,172 eligible bills, which have since been fully settled, and declared Sh1,071,435,683 ineligible due to non-compliance and lack of supporting documentation.

A second internal committee re-evaluated the ineligible bills and found that Sh185,273,881 were conditionally eligible for payment, pending further compliance.

In a meeting with Governor Arati in Kisii Town yesterday,  the senators emphasised the need for transparency, respect for institutions, and the seriousness of governance, urging the county boss not to succumb to the pressure of paying pending bills without proper verification.

Members of the Senator Ali Roba-led Committee counselled the Kisii County Executive to write to the specific contractors whose claims have elements of suspected fraud, informing them that their contracts cannot be processed for payment and allow them to prove the legitimacy of their contracts.

“Governor, you need to write to the specific contractors and tell them why you cannot process their payment to avoid future complications. Do not make payments which are suspected of fraud due to pressure or drama,” Roba advised.

They urged Arati to prioritise paying all the contractors who have already completed their projects, highlighting the positive impact that such a significant amount of money would have on the county’s economy.

Arati thanked the Finance Committee for its resolve to solve the pending bills problem and pledged his county’s resolve to settle genuine claims and strengthen systems to avoid future accumulation of pending bills.

“To ensure continuous review of the pending bills, I have formed the third pending bills committee for a term of three years. This committee has already called on the public to submit their pending bills for verification,” he said.