National Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge stunned MPs in the committee chaired Maina Kamanda by revealing that only Sh1.1 billion out of the Sh12.4 billion kitty has been released to date since promulgation of the Constitution in 2010/file
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 19 – There was uproar in the National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity Committee after it emerged that the government has not been remitting Equalisation Fund allocations to the identified 14 marginalised counties.
National Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge stunned MPs in the committee chaired Maina Kamanda by revealing that only Sh1.1 billion out of the Sh12.4 billion kitty has been released to date since promulgation of the Constitution in 2010.
The MPs were dismayed by revelations that the monies had been utilised on office expenditure instead of benefiting the public as intended in the Constitution.
Thugge and Commission on Revenue Allocation Chairman Jane Kiringai however pleaded with the MPs to enact an amendment to the law that will ring fence funds allocated in the Equalization Fund.
The duo said they were forced to draw up a fresh Appropriation Bill for the money to be utilised after the Controller of Budget refused to authorise release of funds in the last two financial years.
Thugge said the money is lying idle because Parliament is yet to approve a Supplementary Appropriations Bill since expenditure in the past years could not been approved due to the expiry of the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 Appropriation Acts.
However the explanation fell on deaf years as MPs led by Kamanda (Nominated), Adan Keynan (Eldas), James Lomenen (Turkana South) accused the National Treasury lacking political will to implement the Constitution by releasing the money.
“Anything to do with public money is the business of that man right there (pointing at PS Thugge) if he wanted it passed by Thursday believe me it will be done, but as long as it is not utilised, it means he gets to divert it to other uses,” said Kamanda.
“This is unacceptable; the government needs to tell us if they are unwilling to implement the Constitution on the Equalisation Fund, this is not a favour it’s a right,” said Keynan.
The MPs dismissed a list of projects named as having been financed through the Fund, saying they are only on paper.
Kenyan demanded the PS furnish the committee with audited statement of the bank accounts of the Equalisation Fund showing when the account was opened with the Central Bank of Kenya, interest acquired since its inception and annual deposits made since inception in 2010.
The 2010 Constitution states that the government is supposed to set aside 0.5 per cent of the budget to the Equalisation Fund that is supposed to help counties that have been marginalized.
Thugge blamed the delay in passing the relevant policy for the delay in implementing the regulations.
