Nairobi Senator Sifuna demands answers over Ksh.19B pending bill left by NMS

The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has left behind pending bills amounting to Ksh.19 billion.

This is according to Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna who has asked the Senate Public Accounts Committee to investigate the matter and give Nairobians answers as to why there is a huge pending bill.

‘’I have just been going through the account’s books of Nairobi County, and I was shocked to learn that in the last two years alone, the NMS has left behind a debt of Ksh.19 billion,” Sifuna said.

Sifuna was speaking during the election of leaders of the Senate Public Accounts Committee, a committee mandated to ensure prudent use of devolved funds.

During the elections, Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang was elected chairperson of the County Public Accounts Committee.

Kajwang, who was elected unopposed, makes a second stint at the Senate oversight committee that has now been divided into two, with the County Investment and Special Funds committee taking a huge chunk of its mandate.

Kajwang will be deputized by Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei who was also elected unanimously.

Speaking after his election, Kajwang said they have a huge task in their hands but promised to adopt a different strategy in making sure funds that are devolved are fully accounted for.

“We have a huge problem in our counties, especially on pending bills, we will do our job according to the law, we have no intention of making Governors love us, it’s not about them but about the people,” Kajwang said.

“Even on the issue of NMS, we want to know how has the transfer happened, what assets and liabilities they left behind, things are not adding up,” Kajwang added.

Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi was also elected unanimously to chair the sister committee of County Investment and Special Funds committee and will be deputized by his Kisumu counterpart Prof. Tom Ojienda.

Osotsi said the new committee has a huge mandate to oversight all investments done in counties and the special funds that are formed in the counties.

“Counties are engaging in various investments and forming special funds, this committee will ensure that they engage prudently according to the law, we will offer servant leadership and make sure the investments benefit the common mwananchi,” Ososti said.

Prof. Ojienda on his part said the committee could even have a bigger mandate than the CPAC committee for they will involve themselves in projects when they are still ongoing.

“The public private partnerships and other investment ventures run into millions and it needs proper oversight,” he said.