NO TO PUBLIC FUNDING

Kenya lawmakers opposed to the proposed Constitution have termed the move by the 'Yes' camp to utilise Sh541m of public money to fund its campaigns as "illegal".

Those allied to the 'No’ camp have termed as “illegal” the Sh541million government- funded kitty for the 'Yes’ campaign on the proposed Constitution.

They said it was wrong for the government to take money from the public coffers without Parliament’s authority.

“We don’t remember as MPs approving a that a certain amount of money will be given to a group supporting the proposed Constitution irrespective of the flaws,” said Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo at a news conference at Parliament Buildings Thursday.

“We’ll hold the government accountable for misuse of public funds.”

MPs Kiema Kilonzo (Mutito, ODM-K), Julius Kones (Konoin, ODM), Charles Keter (Belgut, ODM) and Benjamin Langat (Ainamoi, ODM) also addressed the media.

Answer for illegality

Dr Kones and Mr Keter said if Treasury released the money to the 'Yes’ team, then the Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta and his Justice counterpart Mutula Kilonzo “will have to answer for the illegality”.

“Any amorphous body like the 'Yes’ secretariat is not legal; unless Parliament approves the funding, the minister of Finance should take note,” said Dr Kones.

“The two sides should bring the funding proposals to Parliament and in any eventuality, the money has to be shared equally between the 'Yes’ and 'No’ sides.”

The bulk of the blame fell on Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s declaration that the proposed Constitution was a government project under Agenda Four.

“Agenda Four was not about giving Kenyans a flawed Constitution...if this document belongs to Kenyans, why use taxpayers’ money to buy their support? Even those voting 'No’ are Kenyans” said Mr Kilonzo.

He noted that it didn’t “make sense to support one side, when there were Cabinet ministers of the coalition government in the 'No’ camp".

The Mutito MP sought to know if the Prime Minister had “sacked” the ministers in the 'No’ side saying “funding the 'Yes’ side alone on account of the Constitution being a government project presupposes that the ministers in the 'No’ camp have been fired".

“If the government is panicking that the people may reject this document and therefore that it should pass at all costs, why then not make it law by decree?” Mr Kilonzo posed.

He said the government ought to “disengage” from the process “to give all Kenyans a fair chance to look at the document".

Mr Keter, who was recently dropped as an assistant minister in a mini-cabinet reshuffle, said it was an anomaly to fund only one side of the 'Yes’- 'No’ divide. He argued that because the Review Act provided for a 'Yes’ and 'No’ vote, it will be fair if the government funded both sides.

The MPs accused the Committee of Experts of being an appendage of the 'Yes’ campaign in the on-going civic education drive around the country and called for an impartial civic education programme.

The CoE’s mandate to carry out civic education is prescribed in the Review Act.

They said that the lobby groups contracted by the CoE ought to have been chosen as per the procurement rules and not simply handpicked as was the case.

The MPs said the 'No’ side was funded by the Church and their personal contributions, thus, there was no reason why the 'Yes’ side should dig into the public coffers to oil its campaign machine.

“This thing (the referendum) is not about winning, it is about Kenyans deciding on the best document to govern this country,” added Mr Jirongo.

The 'No’ team heads to the ODM’s bigwig Charity Ngilu Kitui Central constituency this weekend to drum up support for the rejection of the document. Mr Kilonzo said the weekend meeting will be for “prayers”.

Ms Ngilu is in the 'Yes’ camp.