The County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) has raised concern over the manner in which the Nyandarua County Executive is managing pending bills and urged Governor Moses Kiarie Badilisha to prioritise their settlement to prevent the collapse of local businesses.

The Committee noted that the county closed the 2024/25 financial year with pending bills amounting to Sh5.1 billion against total revenue collection of Sh6.3 billion, warning that the situation raises serious questions about the county’s viability as a going concern.

The Sh5.1 billion figure is nearly double the Sh2.9 billion owed to suppliers at the close of the 2023/24 financial year. Of this amount, bills worth Sh2.6 billion are more than three years old and relate to a period before Governor Badilisha assumed office.

The issue of pending bills featured prominently during the Committee’s session with the Governor as it considered audit queries raised by the Auditor General for the financial year ended June 30, 2025.

Other matters raised by the Committee included the controversial construction of the Sh1.5 billion JM Kariuki Hospital, the absence of an internal audit committee in the county, and the circumstances under which the county voided 1,998 transactions valued at Sh1.9 billion during the year under review.

On pending bills, the Committee observed that runaway obligations in devolved units pose a major threat to devolution and remain a significant obstacle to small and medium enterprises. Members directed the Governor to immediately develop a comprehensive payment plan to cushion local businesses, which have been hardest hit.

“Nyandarua is technically insolvent,” CPAC Chairperson Senator Moses Kajwang stated during the session, adding that the persistent failure by county administrations to manage pending bills has eroded the attractiveness of devolution.

The Governor, however, disputed claims that the county’s pending bills stood at Sh5 billion. His position was challenged by Committee members, who pointed out that the figure appeared in the financial statements prepared by his administration and submitted for audit.

Governor Badilisha maintained that the actual stock of pending bills stands at Sh1.4 billion, explaining that the Sh5.1 billion figure included Sh1.6 billion in staff salaries for May and June 2025, which he said were settled in July following disbursements from the National Treasury.

He further indicated that Sh200 million had been paid during the first half of the current financial year, while Sh998 million was transferred to the Ministry of Defence after the county handed over the construction of JM Kariuki Hospital to the national government.

The Governor also told the Committee that some bills could not be settled after the verification exercise revealed they lacked supporting documentation. “In some cases, suppliers have never come forward to claim their funds,” he said, adding that the county had allocated Sh347 million in the budget to clear part of the debt.

Senator Kajwang questioned why bills lacking supporting documentation remained in the county’s financial books, noting that proper accounting practice requires such amounts to be written off.

“The fact that you have captured them in the financial statements means they are payable. You must pay,” he said, expressing concern that the Sh347 million allocation was inadequate and would take too long to clear the backlog.

“Pending bills are the greatest fiduciary risk facing your county. You must prioritise them over other expenditures,” he added.

Vice Chairperson Senator Johnes Mwaruma challenged the Governor to present a realistic and time-bound payment plan for the settlement of the pending bills.

The Committee further directed the Office of the Controller of Budget not to approve withdrawals from the County Revenue Fund until outstanding pending bills are settled.