Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has said the county government of Nairobi will not pay pending legal bills that run into Sh10 billion.
Sakaja said when he got into office, he found a huge pending bill in Nairobi.
The outstanding liabilities, he says, were close to Sh100 billion and out of that Sh21 billion were legal fees owed to different lawyers.
“Some of the claims which have been pending for years are questionable, and paying them would grind crucial services that the county is offering to a halt,” he said.
“‘Sh21 billion is higher than our equitable share. It is twice our own-source revenue. Many of them are suspicious.”
The Nairobi county boss made the remarks when he appeared before the Senate public accounts committee
Sakaja said a task force to look into the claims should be formed to ascertain their genuineness.
A court sitting in Trans Nzoia, however, outlawed a move to form a committee to probe pending bills.
Sakaja suggested that going forward, county governments should hire internal lawyers and put them on a retainer, to avoid such a dilemma.
At the same time, Sakaja revealed that the Nairobi Metropolitan Service left pending bills amounting to Sh16 billion.
The county boss said the pending bill by NMS needs to be scrutinized before any payment is made.
