The National Assembly Special Funds Accounts Committee has raised concern over delayed remittances by county governments to the Local Authorities Provident Fund, with audit reports showing repeated cases of unpaid contributions across several financial years, a situation that is now straining the fund’s finances and slowing recovery efforts.
The committee, chaired by Migori Woman Rep Fatuma Mohammed, held discussions with officials from the fund to examine findings contained in the Auditor-General’s reports for the financial years 2022/2023 to 2024/2025. The session focused on the fund’s financial statements and the recurring concerns that have been flagged over time.
During the meeting on Tuesday, Chief Executive Officer Bernard Mbogoh told the committee that the delay in remittances by county governments has led to a steady rise in long-term receivables, which has in turn affected the fund’s financial position and made debt recovery more difficult.
He added that the challenge has persisted over the years, with unpaid contributions continuing to accumulate despite ongoing efforts to recover the money owed. Members of the committee noted that the issue of debt recovery has appeared consistently in all the financial years under review, raising concern over the effectiveness of existing collection systems.
The committee further observed that the growing level of receivables, mainly linked to outstanding contributions, reflects weaknesses in the mechanisms used to collect funds and poses a risk to the long-term sustainability of the scheme.
In response, Mbogoh said the management has introduced several measures aimed at improving compliance by county governments and strengthening recovery efforts.
“We have introduced measures such as freezing interest on cleared principal debts for County Governments that enter repayment plans, to encourage compliance and improve recovery,” he said.
The committee also pointed out additional audit issues raised in the reports, including contract variations that were not approved, delays in the completion of the proposed mixed-use development project at Bellevue in Nairobi, and failure to update the Board Charter within the required timelines.
The Local Authorities Provident Fund, which serves as a retirement benefits scheme, caters for members drawn from county assemblies, county executive offices, county public service, staff of county assemblies, employees of water companies, as well as individuals and private institutions.
Following the review, the committee directed the fund to submit a detailed list of county governments that have failed to remit their contributions, with the aim of strengthening accountability and guiding further action on the outstanding amounts.
