Sh14 billion special fund set up to pay Prisons, NYS suppliers

The Cabinet has finally agreed to pay suppliers of the Prisons Department and the National Youth Service (NYS) their pending bills.

A special fund of Sh14 billion has been set aside to pay the genuine suppliers after the traders were subjected to a test of scrutiny. A brief from State House says the issue was discussed before the agreement was arrived at.

“On pending bills, the Cabinet was briefed on the status of outstanding payments in the Prisons Department and the National Youth Service and resolved to set up a Sh14 billion special fund to pay genuine suppliers,” reads part of the brief.

The move came following complaints they are suffering because the department had refused to settle their pending bills. Some say they have sold all their properties to stay afloat as banks have auctioned them.

Principal Secretary Zeinab Hussein had initially said she had referred the matter to the National Treasury Pending Bills Closing Committee to check the claims with care and due diligence to give its final verdict.

“The claimants should be patient and await the outcome of the exercise,” she had said in February.