Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top

Kenya

Raila demands answers from Uhuru on Eurobond

Addressing a news conference in Kisumu City, Odinga said as the chief executive of the nation, the President is constitutionally bound to protect the interest of Kenyans/OJWANG JOE

Addressing a news conference in Kisumu City, Odinga said as the chief executive of the nation, the President is constitutionally bound to protect the interest of Kenyans/OJWANG JOE

KISUMU, Kenya, Dec 6 – CORD leader Raila Odinga has urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and take charge in tracing funds raised from the Eurobond.

Addressing a news conference in Kisumu City, Odinga said as the chief executive of the nation, the President is constitutionally bound to protect the interest of Kenyans.

“Mr President, you were the primary advocate of this Eurobond, ultimately worth USD2.75 billion in 2014,” he said while in the company of Siaya Senator James Orengo and other MPs in Kisumu.

“You explained that we needed to pay off some Anglo Leasing suspects in order to open the path to acquisition of the debt in the international market”.

He says his efforts to engage the Treasury on the matter has only resulted in Kenyans getting conflicting answers but now wants President Kenyatta to order the investigations into the matter be expedited.

“This is a task that you should not hand over to the institutions and bureaucrats who have failed catastrophically on this matter,” he said. “You must tackle this matter yourself. The search for our stolen money must henceforth proceed under your personal direction to inspire confidence in Kenyans”.

The former premier claims that an estimated Sh140 billion could have been misappropriated.

He said failure to trace the funds raised through Kenya’s first sovereign bond will dent the country’s image globally especially among donor and development partners.

Odinga says that as a matter of urgency, President Kenyatta must expedite an independent forensic investigation, both local and international into the management of the entire Eurobond acquisition and subsequent management of the funds.

He says an international asset recovery process must also be initiated immediately to find the missing funds.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

The former PM further dismissed establishment of information desks at the Treasury as a public relations gimmick.

He says Kenyans who will turn up at the desks will be fed the same cooked accounts that have been churned out by the Treasury over the past week.

Despite government agencies commencing investigations into the matter, Odinga emphasised that the matter requires that more urgent action by President Kenyatta is initiated to fast track the recovery process.

About The Author

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News