Vihiga Governor Wilber Otichilo has been directed to appear before the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Budget to shed light on the pending bills in the county.
The report from the county officials shows that the county has total pending bills amounting to Ksh780,250,000 (USD.
2 million).
The bill comprises historical pending bills for the Financial Years 2014/15 to 2017/18 and development and recurrent pending bills for the financial years 2018/19 and 2021/22.
However, the Controller of Budget report indicates that as of June 30, 2023, the county had outstanding pending bills of Ksh1,350,900,000 (USD$9 million).
Among the questions that the Governor will be responding to are why some bills in the historical pending bills and under the development pending bills do not contain the description of works performed.
“He will also clarify whether recurrent pending bills incurred in FY 2018/19 of Kshs.113.5 million as per the Controller of Budget records are included in the Kshs.355.1 million recurrent pending bills for FYs 2018/19 to 2021/22,” said the committee.
He will be expected to justify the disparities in the payment amounts in the IB awaiting approval and the potential double payment to some of the pending bills/Contractors.
Senators will also question the Governor on why his county still has outstanding bills from prior fiscal years, if current pending bills are re-budgeted for in the first supplemental for each fiscal year, and whether pending bills are regarded as a first charge in the CRF.
