Pending bills stood at Sh465.87 billion by March 2026, with the Controller of Budget warning that unpaid obligations are constraining service delivery.

📻 Breaking It Down

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 10 — Government agencies accumulated Sh465.87 billion in unpaid bills by March 31, 2026, underscoring persistent liquidity constraints even as the country’s public debt stock surged to Sh12.82 trillion.

A report released by the Controller of Budget (CoB) on Wednesday noted the figure comprised Sh271.16 billion in recurrent expenditure obligations and Sh194.71 billion relating to development projects.

The report indicates that the stock of unpaid bills remains a significant fiscal risk, affecting suppliers, contractors and service providers engaged by government entities.

📌 What You Need to Know

“Pending bills continue to constrain service delivery and project implementation, while exposing government to litigation and additional costs,” the report states.

Development-related pending bills accounted for about 42 percent of the total, highlighting challenges in financing infrastructure and other capital projects.

The CoB linked some implementation delays to operational challenges associated with the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system, which has slowed procurement processes in several institutions.

The findings come at a time when Kenya’s public debt has risen to Sh12.82 trillion and debt repayments have consumed Sh1.35 trillion during the first nine months of the financial year.

Kenya’s public debt rose by 9 percent in the first nine months of the 2025/26 financial year, pushing the country further above the legal debt threshold.

The debt stock increased from Sh11.8 trillion recorded at the end of June 2025, equivalent to 69.9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), exceeding Parliament’s recommended debt anchor of 55 per cent of GDP by 14.9 percentage points.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya