NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 9 – The Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK) has called for the removal of Controller of Budget Margret Nyakang’o from office for failing to protect the interest of Kenyans.
The organisation’s Secretary General Stephen Mutoro is also pushing for a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to be formed to investigate the expenditure of Sh55 billion which he claimed was approved by Nyakang’o under the provision of Article 223 of the Constitution.
Appearing before the Public Petition Committee, Mutoro told MPs that the Sh55 billion will not have been irregularly spent if Nyakang’o had not given an approval.
“This is a Ukur-Nyakang’o scam because the amount of money we are likely to have lost in this petition could have been much more than most scams combined. Would this scam have come if Nyakang’o didn’t okay the approvals,” he said.
Nyakang’o took over the helm at the office of controller of budget on December 5 2019 for a six-year nonrenewable constitutional term.
On Tuesday, Nyakang’o revealed that Former Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani had coerced her to approve a funding of Sh15.5 billion for two state departments which she did under 26 minutes.
Mutoro stated that Yatani and Nyakang’o should take responsibility for violating the law in the irregular use of public funds saying they worked in cahoots to abuse Article 223 of the constitution.
Article 223 of the 2010 constitution empowers the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury to authorize expenditures that have not been appropriated by Parliament, in certain situations, without the approval of Parliament.
“The people who bear the greatest responsibility are actually the gentleman and the lady within the Constitution. There would be no justice if they are not put to account,” he said.
He poked holes on Nyakang’o’s capability to exercise his mandate responsibility scoffing at the revelation she made that WhatsApp messages from Yatani pushed her to approve the Sh15.5 billion.
“She should have run to her house, she has left the job. Which duress is this, were the police stations closed. Is a WhatsApp message equal to a gun? Did she resign? Did she verify whether Yatani was indeed communicating the message of the President ?” Mutoro stated.
Mutoro emphasized that following the actions of the Controller of Budget it was evident that the Independent Commission must be disbanded for failing to adhere to their mandate.
“Are we really getting value for money from these commissions is time we asked questions. Independent commissions must go in the manner that they are money guzzlers, they are about individuals who are protecting their interest,” he said.
The COFEK Secretary General wants Yatani implicated for abuse of powers pointing out that he initiated projects at the tail end of President Kenyatta’s administration which were not budgeted for by Parliament.
He questioned why Yatani chose to invoke Article 223 for the disbursement of the funds yet it was not an issue of need or an emergency which grants the use of the constitutional path.
“We have no country if we don’t recover this, we need to get to the bottom of this. We must move with speed because this issue happens to be a cycle,” Mutoro stated.
Yesterday, Yatani stated that the Sh127.5 billion for the Supplementary budget was approved using Article 223 with the Sh15.5 billion using the same constitutional path.
“This suggests some form of targeted malice and selective application of her discretion to shield herself from the uncertainty of regime change,” Yatani said.
Judicial Commission on Inquiry
The petitioner wants Parliament commence the process of requesting President William Ruto to form a commission of inquiry raising fears that if the matter is handled by Parliament, it might fall victim to undue external influence.
Mutoro mentioned that some State Department accused of irregularly using the funds have enjoyed immunity as they fall under the Ministry of Interior whose monies are not audited by the Auditor General.
“If we don’t do that people are going to be frustrated when it comes to the floor of the House. They might attempt to vote out the recommendations because we are dealing with a very high level issue,” he said.
He expressed that Parliament might be a weak link in ensuring tamper proof investigations are conducted on the probe of President Uhuru Kenyatta expenditure on monies disbursed under Article 223.
“In any case where we have invoked provisions for the Committee of Implementation of the house, sometimes they have been equally frustrated. For us we are pleading for a commission of inquiry,” Mutoro stated.
The COFEK Secretary General further alluded that with explosive evidence from different whistleblowers, a commission of inquiry will be best suited to look into the allegation with a surety of protection of witnesses.
“We know what has happened to whistleblowers from CBK scams, they are not here anymore,” Mutoro stated.
Amendment of Article 223
The Petitioners wants the Public Petition Committee to recommend to Parliament an amendment of Article 223 of the Constitution which he lamented was being violated.
Mutoro expressed that Article 223 (5) should limit the figures or amounts that the National Treasury can request without Parliament approval.
The Article provides that , the national government may not spend under this Article more than ten per cent of the sum appropriated by Parliament for that financial year unless, in special circumstances, Parliament has approved a higher percentage.
“The constitution is too generous, it assumes good faith. This are some of the issues we need to look into because the violation is done by successive governments,” he said.
