The Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) has raised concern over Trans Nzoia County’s failure to pay former staff gratuity amounting to millions of shillings, and warned the Controller of Budget against authorising further withdrawals from the County Revenue Fund until the matter is addressed.

The Committee issued the warning on Thursday while grilling Governor George Natembeya over the Auditor-General’s report on the county’s financial statements for the 2024/25 financial year.

According to the Auditor-General, Trans Nzoia County has failed to pay gratuity to staff whose contracts ended several years ago. Financial records indicate that the last gratuity payment was made on May 9, 2021.

The outstanding gratuity bill stands at Sh52 million, comprising Sh26 million owed to staff who served in the Office of the Governor during the tenure of former Governor Patrick Khaemba, and a further Sh26 million owed to staff from various county departments.

Committee members, led by CPAC Chairperson Senator Moses Kajwang’, faulted the county for withholding terminal dues for over four years, terming the delay unjustified.

“This is unfair,” said Senator Kajwang’, noting that officers who had already exited public service were fully entitled to the payments. “You must prioritise this payment.”

Governor Natembeya admitted the gratuity had not been paid but attributed the delay to financial constraints rather than deliberate neglect.

“It is an unfortunate situation. I am alive to the fact that we are not paying the money,” he said, as the Committee pressed him to explain why the debt had remained unpaid for four years.

“There is no malice. It is just circumstances,” the Governor added.

He told the Committee that part of the problem stemmed from failure by previous administrations to remit statutory deductions to relevant agencies, forcing the county to set aside funds to clear the arrears.

He said the delayed remittances had attracted heavy penalties and tax obligations, which had further strained the county’s finances.

However, Senator Kajwang’ dismissed the explanation, accusing the Governor of conflating gratuity payments with historical pension remittance issues.

“Gratuity has nothing to do with pension schemes. It has everything to do with internal inefficiencies,” he said, urging the county to prioritise settling the debt.

Senator Samson Cherarkey supported the position, stressing that gratuity was not a privilege but a contractual obligation.

“Gratuity is not a privilege; it is a plan,” said Senator Cherarkey. “The Governor must roll out a payment plan to clear this debt.”

The Committee directed that the Controller of Budget should not authorise any further requisitions by the county unless the Governor presents a gratuity payout plan approved by both CPAC and the Office of the Auditor-General.

Governor Natembeya accepted the directive and assured the Committee that the county would allocate funds for the gratuity payments through a supplementary budget.