Kenyans will incur a penalty of Ksh.25.3 billion due to delays in settling pending bills by the national government, according to Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o. This amount is interest accrued on top of the principal pending bills, which increased by Ksh.9 billion in just 12 months, and will be paid by taxpayers.

• The Ministry of Roads and Transport, led by Davis Chirchir, is responsible for the largest portion of these penalties, facing a Ksh.21.3 billion penalty on top of its Ksh.121.8 billion original pending bills.
• Key institutions like Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), and Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) have accrued billions in penalties.
• The CoB recommends that the National Treasury fast-track verification and payment of eligible pending bills to alleviate liquidity constraints, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and prevent further operational scale-backs and layoffs.