Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja was present for the afternoon session at the Senate on Tuesday, July 21, hours after he appeared in court following his arrest for flouting Covid-19 directives.
The Prompt Payments Bill, co-sponsored by Sakaja and Nominated Senator Farhiya Haji, appeared on the day's order paper. It offers several proposals meant to facilitate timely payment of suppliers of goods, works and services to national and county governments.
Sakaja was sentenced to three months imprisonment or a fine of Ksh15,000, which he paid. He was arrested on Saturday, July 18 at Ladies Lounge along Dennis Pritt Road in Nairobi, after he was found drinking in the company of several others at 1 am, disregarding the dusk to dawn curfew.
Sakaja's office confirmed to Kenyans.co.ke that the Senator remained focused on his duties as a Senator even after resigning as Chairman of the Senate Adhoc Committee on Covid-19 following the incident.
"Sakaja is back to business in the Senate as usual with the same zeal he has always shown," stated the source.
It has long been a complaint of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that pending bills from government agencies and institutions drive their businesses to the verge of collapse, with many taking out loans to be able to fulfill contractual obligations.
Primarily, the Prompt Payments bill seeks to remedy this by compelling governments to issue payments within prescribed timelines.
It also proposes action in case of failure by government agencies to pay suppliers within the timelines, including payment of interest to the supplier.
The bill further proposes that accounting officers who fail to pay suppliers without reasonable cause face punishment including five years imprisonment.
"The Bill requires that a procuring entity shall pay for the goods, works or services provided by the prescribed payment date. Failure to pay the amount due within the stipulated time, a procuring entity shall be liable to pay an interest calculated on the basis of the Central Bank base rates.
"Clause 8 of the Bill provides for offences. An accounting officer who, without reasonable cause or negligently fails to pay the amount due commits an offence and shall be liable to pay a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both fine and imprisonment," it reads in part.
The bill also provides a framework for procuring entities to dispute invoices, by returning them and identifying the defects within fourteen days.
