Contractors in Homa Bay have asked the county government to settle debts of over Sh480 million in pending bills.
Through their organization dubbed Homa Bay County Contractors Association, the traders had earlier given an ultimatum that they would paralyze operations in the facilities they had constructed for the county government if the county failed to pay them.
However, the contractors now say they have suspended their intention and resorted to dialogue.
Addressing journalists at the county headquarters, the Association Secretary General Kennedy Aloso said they had resolved to dialogue instead of unorthodox means to solve the payment stalemate.
Aloso said they have engaged the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Finance Solomon Obiero who promised them that they were going to be paid soon because the county had received money from the National Treasury.
“We have decided to explore this matter through dialogue. Obiero has told us that they have money which they are going to pay us by the end of this week,” Aloso said.
He expressed hope that the CECM would keep his promise on the payment.
Peter Brown, the Association’s Organising Secretary called for prompt payments to promote peaceful co-existence between the contractors and the county government.
“We expect the CECM to keep his promise so that we have good relations between contractors and the county government,” Brown said.
Florence Momanyi, a member, said they were languishing in debts after borrowing from financial institutions to do the county government’s work.
‘We are not in any war with the county government but our desire is to get paid because most of us are undergoing financial difficulties.” Momanyi said.
The contractors are demanding the debt payment saying the bills accrued from the work they did from 2013 during former Governor Cyprian Awiti’s regime.
By Davis Langat
