The committee rejected KLB's proposal to write off a Sh921,000 debt owed by JKUAT Public Investments Committee Chairperson Dick Maungu /HANDOUT State publisher–Kenya Literature Bureau is struggling to pay suppliers due to cashflow issues from delayed payments amounting to Sh1.05 billion mostly by government institutions.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu's report on KLB's accounts show the bureau is owed Sh1.05 billion in trade and other receivables, with Sh251.5 million having remained unpaid for more than 90 days. The state-owned publisher told Parliament that efforts to recover the money from government agencies have largely failed, exposing a growing cash flow crisis within the public sector where institutions are unable to collect payments from fellow government entities.
Appearing before the National Assembly's Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education, KLB has warned delayed payments have weakened its finances, making it difficult to pay suppliers and sustain normal operations. The warning came as MPs demanded tougher action against defaulting public institutions instead of allowing debts to accumulate for years before being written off.
Public Investments Committee Chairperson Dick Maungu said recovering even part of the outstanding amounts would significantly ease the bureau's financial pressures. "If you recover even a fraction of these debts, you will be able to pay salaries for some of your staff.
You can try to be aggressive in recovery measures rather than seek debt write-offs," said Maungu who is also the Luanda MP. KLB managing director George Okeyo said the bureau's biggest challenge is collecting payments from fellow government institutions, noting that administrative efforts over several years have yielded little success.
"If we are allowed by the government to take drastic action against fellow government institutions, we would do so. We have used all the avenues available to KLB over the years, but we have failed to recover these debts," Okeyo told the committee. The committee questioned why some debts dating back to 2015 remain unresolved, with MPs dismissing suggestions that statutory time limits should automatically prevent recovery.