Lobby group wants gov't to pay pending bills before preparing FY 25/26 budget

The petition, filed by Operation Linda Jamii through its official representative Fred Ogolla also seeks to compel the government to pay all the pending bills before it can proceed with preparing the national budget for the financial year 2025/2026.

The petitioner argues that the National Treasury is using a planned shift from cash-based accounting to accrual-based accounting as a strategy to reduce the apparent scale of pending bills and avoid immediate payment.

Operation Linda Jamii claims that the Budget Policy Statement dated February 13, 2025 lacks transparency and fails to demonstrate good faith regarding how and when the government intends to clear the outstanding debts.

“There is a serious contradiction by the 2nd Respondent in the Budget Policy Statement dated 13th February 2025,” the petition reads. “While the Treasury states that its economic priority is to spur Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by allocating Ksh.60 billion through the Hustler Fund—as outlined in Section 1.2.2, page 5 of the statement—it has not addressed the issue of pending bills that continue to cripple SMEs financially.”

The petitioner further argues that the government’s claim of supporting MSMEs through the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda is made in bad faith.

 "According to a circular issued by the 2nd Respondent-National Assembly on 16th June 2020 the biggest victims of the government’s failure to pay pending bills remain SMEs, which contradicts the stated goal of empowering them through new borrowing schemes," reads court papers. 

In addition, the petition references the President’s appointment of a committee to verify pending bills, through Gazette Notice No. 13355 dated September 29, 2023.

Operation Linda Jamii claims that is yet another delay tactic, citing public outcry and a history of similar committees—both at the national and county levels—that have failed to produce meaningful results.

The petitioners therefore urge the court to supervise the verification and payment process, to ensure accountability and protect the public interest.