President ordered all Cabinet Secretaries and PSs not to proceed with their holidays until all pending bills in their ministries were paid in full.
According to a report by Citizen TV on Tuesday, December 24, acting Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani also reiterated the urgency for all uncleared bills to be paid.
Further, Yattani stated that non-payment for goods and services procured by the national and county governments had led to the poor performance of businesses, thereby generating a negative effect on the economy.
During an interview on Citizen TV on Monday, December 23, Yattani stated that unpaid bills were highly crumbling the small and medium enterprise sector.
Yattani also noted that the delayed payments had led to the closing down of some companies and individual businesses.
“It’s unfair that after a contractor finishes their work, you stay with money.
“We are getting reports that some of these people owed by the government are stressed to the extent where they take their own lives,” remarked the CS.
“We have really put pressure on ministries, departments, and counties to make sure that all pending bills are paid,” he affirmed.
In a survey conducted on Kenyans by research company, TIFA, released on Monday, December 23, 60 per cent of the population indicated that their financial status was worse in the 2019 Christmas season in comparison to the same period the previous year.
The research painted a picture of slow economic growth where only 21 per cent of Kenyans reported an increase in their financial capability in 2019.
A majority of the respondents planned to either avoid or minimize the amount of money they had spent during the 2018 Christmas festivities this year.
A worrying 11 per cent of the respondents further indicated that they would not be spending a coin to mark the festive season as a result of the tough economic times, while 42 per cent said they would cut their budgets.
