Counties managed to reduce their overall pending bills by Sh9.4 billion in the nine months to March 2025, even after paying a total of Sh34 billion, the Controller of Budget has revealed in the latest report.

Despite this effort, the gains made were eroded by the continued build-up of new unpaid bills over the same period.

According to the Controller of Budget (CoB), counties' pending bills stood at Sh172.5 billion by the end of March, down from Sh181.9 billion in June 2024.

The report shows that although the counties made payments totalling Sh34 billion between July and March, the resulting reduction in pending bills was far less, reflecting ongoing challenges in debt management.

“The counties with significant pending bills stock included Nairobi City at Sh115.69 billion, Kiambu (Sh5.6 billion), Machakos (Sh4.63 billion), Mombasa (Sh3.43 billion), Garissa (Sh2.62 billion), Kisii (Sh2.56 billion), Bungoma (Sh2.5 billion), Kisumu (Sh2.24 billion) and Busia (Sh2.04 billion),” the CoB notes.

Over the same period, Nairobi recorded the highest payment of pending bills at Sh5.9 billion, followed by Turkana County, which settled bills valued at Sh2.69 billion.

Bungoma also made substantial payments amounting to Sh2 billion, while Kilifi paid Sh1.47 billion and Kwale settled bills worth Sh1.36 billion.

The data shows that out of the total Sh34 billion paid across the country, 45 counties were involved in clearing their debts. However, the top 11 counties were responsible for Sh20.4 billion, accounting for 59.9 percent of the total payments made during the three quarters.

Despite the payments, the Controller of Budget expressed concern over the lack of commitment to repayment plans. “Several county governments did not follow their plans to pay pending bills.

The delays in disbursing the equitable share of revenue raised nationally, along with underperformance in own-source revenue (OSR), contributed to this lack of compliance,” said Margaret Nyakang’o.

All counties had submitted payment plans to the Controller of Budget in July last year. These plans outlined which bills would be paid and within what timeframes.

Since then, the CoB has been monitoring implementation and authorising the withdrawal of funds from county revenue funds based on these plans.

Further analysis shows that other counties with large bill payments over the nine months included Machakos at Sh1.29 billion, Migori (Sh1.22 billion), Kiambu (Sh1.2 billion), Homa Bay (Sh1.15 billion), Kisumu (Sh1.09 billion), and Mombasa (Sh1.02 billion).

These counties made efforts to settle their obligations, although the Controller of Budget warned that the progress is still insufficient.

She advised that counties should avoid piling up pending bills, especially by putting a stop to the practice of making financial commitments towards the end of the financial year. Instead, she urged them to set realistic revenue targets and prioritise the payment of completed activities to ensure better fiscal discipline.