Pending bills surge to Sh525b, crippling businesses and straining SMEs

Controller of the budget, Margaret Nyakango explains a point when she appeared before the parliamentary committee on budget and appropriation at English point, Marina in Mombasa.[Omondi Onyango/Standard]

The amount of money that the national government owes different businesses increased over the financial year to June this year, with companies continuing to bear the burden of pending bills that have seen many of them scale down, while some have shut down.

A new report by the Controller of Budget (COB) shows that pending bills by different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and state corporations increased to Sh524.84 billion in the year to June 2025, up from Sh516.27 billion recorded in June 2024.