NAIROBI, Kenya Apr 6 – The Kenya Kwanza Alliance has formally written to Auditor General Nancy Gathungu requesting an audit on the Sh30 billion which they allege was spent on the clamor to amend the Constitution through the now flopped Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) process.
The Alliance claimed that the BBI Secretariat which was co-chaired by Suna East Member of Parliament Junet Mohammed and former Dagorretti South legislator Dennis Waweru spent Sh10 billion to popularize the initiative.
They further claim that an additional Sh20 billion was spent by various unnamed Principal Secretaries and other accounting officers to push for public support of the process.
“Article 201 of the Constitution spells out the principles of public finance. In particular, Article 201(d) of the Constitution provides that public money shall be used in a prudent and responsible way. These principles of public finance are further embodied in the Public Finance Management Act No. 18 of 2012”.
In particular, Section 66(1)(a) and () of the ACt provides that accounting officers shall monitor, evaluate and oversee the management or public finances in their respective entities, including the promotion and enforcement or transparency, effective management and accountability with regard to the use of public finances and take such other actions, not inconsistent with the Constitution, as shall further the implementation of the Act,” the Alliance leaders Deputy President William Ruto, Amani National Congress (ANC) Party Leader Musalia Mudavadi and FORD Kenya’s Moses Wetangula said in a statement on Wednesday.
Once the audit is finalized, the leaders want the report to be submitted to the National Assembly for further scrutiny.
“We are committed to ensuring that every coin that belongs to the people of Kenya is used lawfully and only for purposes of advancing their well-being through social and economic development projects. On this, we shall pursue relentlessly to safeguard all public funds up to the last coin,” they said.
The leaders maintain that the promoters of the BBI initiative which was shot down by the Supreme Court have violated different provisions of the Constitution and must be held accountable once the audit is concluded.
The push for the audit comes on the backdrop of the fuel crisis which has been witnessed across various parts of the country with the alliance leaders alleging that funds meant for the petroleum levy fund had been diverted and misappropriated by the government for unknown projects.
In his latest attack on government, Ruto on Monday claimed that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration had sabotaged the economy and abandoned the plight of Kenyans.
“This is why in the midst of this distressing crisis, the loudest messages from public officials including ministers are centered around BBI Reggae, Azimio jingle bells and whistles,” he said.
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Twalib Mbarak, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, Country Director World Bank Keith Hansen and resident representative International Monetary Fund Office in Kenya Tobias Rasmussen have all been copied in the letter addressed to Gathungu.
