NO MONEY

The Treasury appeared to rule out the possibility of releasing more money towards civic education with Finance PS Joseph Kinyua saying they had financed all the activities agreed upon with the Committee of Experts (CoE).

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In a statement issued on Saturday night, Mr Kinyua said that Sh100 million had been released to the CoE while the government had used Sh230 million to print copies of the proposed law.

He said the government will spend Sh1.2 billion to print copies of the proposed constitution for distribution ahead of the August 4 referendum.

“The total budget for printing (the main item under the budget) amounted to Sh1.2 billion and it was agreed that the government would finance this activity through the Government Printer. Treasury has already provided Sh400 million of this amount, and the balance has been factored in the next fiscal year 2010/11. There should therefore be no issues with respect to printing,” said Mr Kinyua.

Additional amount

“After further discussions it was determined that the additional amount expected from GoK (Government of Kenya) was Sh330 million. Of this, Sh200 million was related to printing and was, therefore taken up by GoK. The actual amount expected from GoK was, therefore, Sh130 million. However, considering that the civic education programme is expected by law to end 30 days after the Attorney General has published the Constitution, it was agreed that the CoE be allocated Sh100 million which Treasury has released and the CoE itself has confirmed.”

This week, CoE chairman Nzamba Kitonga spoke of his desperation as the clock ticks towards the referendum.

“We have been pleading with the Treasury to give us money but they have flatly refused to release any to us. All they tell us is to talk to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs,” Mr Kitonga said.

Approved budget

Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo told the Sunday Nation that his ministry had approved the budget and transmitted it to the Treasury.

Roads assistant minister Lee Kinyanjui told the Sunday Nation that in his understanding, Parliament had approved only Sh100 million for civic education.

The statement from Treasury was issued in the in the wake of confusion surrounding the civic education exercise after the Justice Ministry and the CoE accused the Treasury of dithering in releasing the funds.

“A meeting was held between the Government Printer, the CoE and the Attorney General on Monday, May 17 on distribution of the document and it was resolved that CoE distribute one million copies, mostly in far flung areas by hiring military choppers,” said Kinyua in his statement on Saturday.

Mr Kitonga last week complained that the Sh100 million was not enough and said the exercise would continue with the “limited resources” available.

The civic education exercise is the last step before the campaigns on the proposed law kick off on July 13. However, the Yes and No camps have already embarked on campaigns in which distortions of what is in the document have been reported.

“We want to ensure Kenyans can differentiate these distortions from the truth. That is why we are encouraging them to read the document,” Mr Kitonga said.

CoE executive director Ekuru Aukot has also been reported expressing disappointment at the slow pace and accusing the Treasury of failing to release Sh230 million required for civic education.

“The strategy we had agreed on for civic education cannot be executed to the letter. It (failure to release funds) is slowing the process of educating the public,” he said. “They keep on saying they will release the money but I have not received a dime from them.”

Meanwhile Gichugu MP Martha Karua on Saturday dismissed some politicians and religious leaders opposed to the proposed constitution as quacks on legal matters.

Ms Karua said the leaders were wrongly interpreting the document because they were not law experts.

The MP said the opponents were misleading Kenyans.

She told the leaders to hire lawyers who would assist them interpret the draft law in the right way so that Kenyans could know the truth.

Ms Karua noted that when people had legal problems they sought the services of lawyers.

She was speaking at Ngariama Mixed Secondary School in her constituency where she presided over a prize-giving ceremony.

Ms Karua said it was important that the No camp consulted their lawyers before going public on issues they did not understand.