The Senate Committee on County Public Investments and Special Funds rejected a request for a further four-month extension of the multi-agency task force established to address the non-remittance of pension deductions by county governments.

The Committee, chaired by Vice Chairperson Sen. Eddy Oketch, met National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi and his delegation to review the task force’s findings, outstanding engagements and proposed framework for settling county pension arrears.

According to the National Treasury, county pension liabilities increased from KSh21.3 billion inherited from the defunct local authorities before devolution to KSh115.7 billion as at 31st October 2024.

Of the outstanding amount, county executives owed KSh103.2 billion, water service providers KSh9.3 billion, while county assemblies accounted for KSh3.2 billion.

Despite repeated requests for validation of the figures, only 10 county executives and 9 county assemblies had confirmed their pension liabilities by 18th June 2026.

The Committee also heard that Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja attended a meeting with the task force on 8th April 2025 and undertook to consult his technical team, but had not provided feedback. The Mombasa Governor failed to attend despite a formal invitation and several follow-up calls.

“The task force completed the assignment contained in the legal notice and gave every county an opportunity to participate. We cannot continue extending its mandate because some governors failed to respond. The Senate can now take up the outstanding matters directly,” said Sen. Oketch.

The task force proposed that pension deductions be treated as a first charge on county revenue and deducted at source during salary processing. It also recommended debt-settlement agreements, automated verification through HRIS and IFMIS, and stronger sanctions against accounting officers who fail to remit deductions.

Sen. George Mbugua said pension contributions should never be used to finance unrelated county operations.

“Pension deductions belong to workers. Once the money is deducted from an employee’s salary, it must be remitted to the pension scheme immediately. Keeping it exposes workers to uncertainty and undermines their retirement security,” said Sen. Mbugua.

CS Mbadi acknowledged that task forces should not operate indefinitely, although the Treasury had requested additional time to conclude stakeholder consultations and validate outstanding liabilities.

“The task force submitted its report, but some critical engagements, particularly with Nairobi and Mombasa, remained inconclusive. Nevertheless, task forces cannot exist in perpetuity, and the Treasury will provide the Committee with the report and all supporting correspondence within the agreed period,” said CS Mbadi.

The Committee directed the CS to resubmit the task force report, together with all correspondence exchanged with counties, pension schemes and other stakeholders, within 14 days. Treasury will also submit the proposed debt-settlement agreement once it receives legal clearance from the Attorney-General.

The Committee will invite the Nairobi and Mombasa county governments before finalising its report to the Senate.