The Controller of Budget (CoB) has raised concerns over Ksh115.57 billion in unpaid statutory deductions, which formed part of the national government’s pending bills as of March 2026, with the figures potentially exposing thousands of civil servants to significant loan risks.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Overall, according to the CoB, pending bills stood at Ksh465.87 billion, comprising Ksh271.16 billion in recurrent expenditure and Ksh194.71 billion in development expenditure across ministries, departments, and agencies.

A substantial share of the arrears relates to statutory deductions already withheld from employees’ salaries but not remitted to the relevant institutions.

These include Ksh40.21 billion in Personal Emoluments arrears, Ksh39.64 billion in NHIF deductions, Ksh26.50 billion in PAYE, and Ksh9.22 billion in SACCO deductions.

📌 What You Need to Know

The CoB warns that failure to remit these funds as required raises serious payroll compliance and accountability concerns, given that the money had already been deducted from workers.

"Accounting Officers should ensure the timely payment of statutory deductions, as failure to do so is likely to affect staff welfare and morale," reads part of the report.

In Kenya, such delays may undermine key employee-linked systems that rely on timely and consistent remittance of statutory deductions.

SACCOs, which rely on consistent remittance records to update members’ savings and determine borrowing capacity, may be left with incomplete contribution data, potentially affecting loan processing and members’ financial standing .

On the other hand, unpaid PAYE deductions could result in discrepancies between employee salary deductions and official KRA tax records, creating a situation where workers appear to owe tax despite amounts already being deducted from their pay.

Such inconsistencies can complicate access to tax compliance documents such as clearance certificates, which are often required for loans, public tenders, or formal employment processes.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke