Diplomatic Row Looming As Spain Demands Kenya Settles Ksh.1.2B Debt
There is a growing diplomatic dispute emerging between Kenya and Spain due to unresolved invoices totaling more than Ksh.1.2 billion.
Kenya faces the possibility of incurring substantial interest penalties due to a 10-year delay in settling the bill owed to a Spanish company responsible for building a versatile dam at the lower Ewaso Ngiro.
The Spanish Embassy has reached out to various government bodies in an attempt to receive the payment, but their efforts have not been fruitful.
One such letter written to the Treasury says: “The Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain presents its complaints to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kenya and has the honor to forward herewith a letter from the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Kenya.”
The letter from Spain Ambassador to Kenya Javier Garcia de Viedma read in part: “As you are aware the longstanding debt with the Spanish companies TYPSA is yet to be settled…despite the many efforts taken by the company and this embassy to collect the outstanding payments we still have not received any way forward on the issue.”
The letter additionally highlighted that this problem is putting at risk potential future investments in Kenya and the overall standing of the Kenyan government.
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In a separate communication addressed to Felix Koskei, Head of Public Service, and also shared with the former Ministry of East African Community Cabinet Secretary, Rebecca Miano, the Treasury Cabinet Secretary confirmed that the Spanish firm had been engaged by the Ministry of Regional Development (now Ministry of East African Community) to undertake the comprehensive planning of the lower Ewaso Ng’iro South river multipurpose dam. The contract for this project amounted to Ksh.3.1 billion and Ksh.267.5 million.
The embassy also pointed out that the unpaid invoices underwent scrutiny, confirming their validity, and emphasized that the payment should have already been processed.
The correspondence received from the Spanish embassy caught the interest of Kenya’s Foreign Affairs ministry, under the leadership of Dr. Alfred Mutua. He urged the ministry to strive for a harmonious equilibrium in fostering advantageous relationships not only with Spain but also with other international nations.
The topic of unpaid bills was also discussed at the Kenya-Spain joint business forum in Madrid, where Minister for Foreign Affairs Jose Albares Bueno raised concerns about the outstanding debts owed by Kenyan entities to Spanish companies.
The government has stated that it is anticipating further validation from the pending bill’s committee, overseen by former Auditor General Edward Ouko.
Currently, the aggregate amount of unresolved bills within the national government amounts to Ksh.600 billion.
Diplomatic Row Looming As Spain Demands Kenya Settles Ksh.1.2B Debt