By Andrew Mbuva
The Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance and Budget has confronted Kitui Governor Dr. Julius Malombe over the ballooning pending bills owed by his County Executive, raising alarm over the lack of transparency and credible verification mechanisms in place.
This came after Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua formally sought a statement from the committee, asking for clarity on the total value of pending bills and the measures being implemented to verify their authenticity and curb fraudulent or exaggerated claims.
In response, the committee, led by Senator Ali Roba, met with Governor Malombe in Kitui Town on Monday to address the matter head-on.
During the tense meeting, Senators expressed deep concern upon learning that the County Government had formed the Kitui County Pending Bills Review Committee (PBRC) in 2022, tasked with receiving and verifying all pending claims.
The Senators questioned the credibility of this committee, citing its direct appointment by the Governor as a potential conflict of interest.
They urged Governor Malombe to bring in the Office of the Auditor General—an independent constitutional entity—to verify the committee’s findings before any report is submitted to the County Assembly.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale strongly criticized the trend of governors bypassing the Auditor General’s oversight.
“Governors are free animals who must run inside the constitutional cage. Only the independent Auditor General can certify these bills,” he said.
Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka echoed this sentiment, warning that no other body has the authority to validate pending bills besides the Auditor General.
The Senators raised fears that relying solely on a governor-appointed committee could open the door to biased payments, where politically favored entities are prioritized while genuine creditors are sidelined.
They emphasized the need for independent scrutiny to ensure fairness and accountability in settling the debts.
In his defense, Governor Malombe explained that the Pending Bills Review Committee had issued an open call to all creditors and carefully examined the claims for legitimacy and accuracy.
He noted that his administration had made efforts to settle the bills, but was hampered by delayed budget allocations, unmet own-source revenue targets, undisbursed grants, and sluggish exchequer disbursements.
He revealed that the committee had received claims totaling KSh 2.56 billion, of which KSh 1.43 billion had been approved for payment, while KSh 1.13 billion was still undergoing further verification and validation.
The Finance Committee also met with Members of the County Assembly of Kitui, led by Speaker Kevin Katisya, and commended them for setting a positive example by clearing all their pending bills.
