A Parliamentary Committee was shocked to learn that the State Department on Lands and Physical Planning has historical pending bills amounting to Kshs 18.236B.

Committee on Lands chaired by Hon. Joash Nyamoko met with Hon. Nixon Korir, PS State Department on Lands and Physical Planning regarding budget implimentation and monitoring for the FY 2022/2023.

Legislators sought details on the financial performance by vote & programme from the State Department on Lands and Physical Planning indicating actual receipts, exchequer issues, recurrent expenditure, pending bills and actual output achieved relative to set targets.

According to documents scrutinized by the Members of the Committee, the State Department has pending bills amounting to Kshs.625 M comprising of verified pending bills of  Kshs. 447M and unverified bills amounting to Kshs.178M with audits ongoing. 

"However, It’s worth noting that there are historical legal pending bills amounting to Ksh 18.236B," PS Korir said.

Committee Members raised alarm questioning the cause of such a significant debt

"What is the role of the Attorney General as the Chief legal advisor of the Government if the Lands Ministry has lost this many cases resulting in 18.236B in judgement settlements?" asked Hon. Joash Nyamoko.

MPs also learnt that the State Department of Lands and Physical Planning has unpaid court awards with accrued interest dating back to 2006. 

Members of the Committee questioned the competence of the Attorney General in representing the Ministry in land adjudication matters after reviewing documents that revealed,  the Ministry has for the past 17 years accumulated 26 unpaid court awards which have accrued interest massive interest over time. 

The Committee on Lands directed the PS, Hon.Nixon Korir to provide comprehensive documentation in the land adjudication procedures and all court cases. The Committee has resolved to investigate the matter further.