Members of Parliament want Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu to conduct an audit of Sh1.9 billion pending bills by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The amount includes Sh1.4 billion in legal fees and Sh0.53 billion in non-legal fees.

“That by  March 31, 2023, the Office of the Auditor General undertakes a special audit on Sh1.9 billion pending bills payment request by IEBC,” reads the report.

Inter-agency bills

Legislators also want the Treasury to put in place a policy to ensure pending bills owed by one government agency to another are fully settled in order to deal with huge spending bills.

The report says the Lands ministry has pending bills amounting to Sh329.8 million, as well as historical legal pending bills accruing from the court and arbitration awards of Sh18 billion.

At the Ministry of Interior, out of Sh6.2 billion that was provided to settle all historical pending bills, claims amounting to Sh988.6 million lacked documentation. And claims amounting to Sh755 million were under investigation by the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC).

“That execution of the Budget for 2022/2023 shall adhere to the set debt limit underpinned by section 50(2) and Public Finance Management National Government) regulation 261).”

 The directive came on the day MPs approved Budget estimates for the 2022/23 financial year amounting to Sh4 trillion.

This comprises Sh1.38 trillion for recurrent expenditure, Sh715.5 billion development expenditure, Sh869 billion for Consolidated Fund Services, Sh370 billion for county equitable share and Sh702.5 billion for principle debt redemption.

 The MPs were debating the estimates tabled by the Budget and Appropriations Committee, chaired by Kieni MP Kanini Kega, on Tuesday.

MPs James Nyikal (Seme), Ferdinand Wanyonyi (Kwanza), Johanna Ng’eno (Emurrua Dikirr) and Millie Odhiambo (Suba North), though supporting the Budget, stressed the need for it to be people-centred. Nyikal said that while the Budget is huge, the cash should trickle down to the counties.

Fleeced Kenyans

Nge’no urged the government to address the huge debts which have continued to increase.  “This government has robbed and fleeced Kenyans. We are paying money in debts unlike any other country … billions and trillions,” he said.

Wanyonyi told the National Treasury to allocate money to ministries and departments with stalled projects.

In the report, the committee noted that although it had received additional requests from departmental committees amounting to Sh115 billion to meet expenditure shortfalls, it could only recommend additions of Sh22.2 billion after a reduction of Sh21.77 billion from various ministries due to financial constraints.

The committee observed that the Executive budget had exceeded the approved policy by Sh28.4 billion due to what Treasury termed as additional expenditure relating to support for Kenya Power. But Kenya Power accounts for only Sh7 billion, the committee noted.

Other key points include a funding framework for postgraduate trainees (registrars) seconded to referral hospitals and enhancement of tax incentives for electric and gas-powered cars and spare parts.