The government through the National Treasury will release Kshs 65 billion to pay pending bills without queries by the end of June. The decision was arrived at during a meeting between Deputy President William Ruto and key stakeholders including Governors led by Kakamega Governor and Council of Governors’ chair Wycliffe Oparanya, Treasury CS Henry Rotich and other key leaders. The Deputy President has said that the move is meant to benefit local industry and ensure small businesses benefit from an inflow of capital.
During Madaraka day celebrations in Narok, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed that the national and County governments should settle all pending payments that do not have audit queries, on or before June 30th. “The government is the largest consumer of goods and services in our economy. Many small businesses are built to service this demand, unfortunately, pending payments have negatively affected many businesses, particularly those whose bulk of capital is now locked in non-payment,” he said, adding that it had reduced overall spending and business activity in the economy.