IIEC says it has no money for referendum

The fate of the August 4 referendum on the proposed constitution hangs in the balance following revelations that the Interim Independent Electoral Commission has no money to conduct it.

IIEC chairman Isaack Hassan said the commission had requested the Treasury for Sh4.6 billion for the vote, but only received “a paltry” Sh2.6 billion.

On Monday, Mr Hassan told the Mohammed Abdikadir-led Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs that much of the money allocated for the referendum had already been diverted for other equally important assignments.

The funds, he revealed, had been used to finance by-elections in Matuga and a host of other civic seats across the country, the registration of prisoners as had been directed by the Interim Independent Constitutional Dispute Resolution Court, among others.

“We do not have enough funds... we are therefore unable to conduct the referendum,” Mr Hassan said.

Agenda Four

The new development came as it also emerged that the work of most of the commissions under Agenda Four was likely to be hampered by lack of adequate funding.

Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo, while making a presentation to the same committee, said that most of the commissions had been short-changed by the Treasury in terms of funding.

The minister gave an example of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, which despite asking for Sh1.2 billion had only received Sh190 million.

“I even doubt if the money will last two months,” said Mr Kilonzo.

The National Cohesion and Integration Commission, which is leading the war against hate speech, was only allocated Sh157 million, said the minister.

The commission had sought Sh480 million. Mr Kilonzo further revealed that the Sh700 million that had been promised to the Committee of Experts to conduct its operations had not been released to date.

“This is really hampering their work,” he said.

However, the minister appeared to be content with the allocation given to the Interim Independent Constitutional Dispute Resolution Court, which received Sh160 million.

The minister said that with only 28 days remaining to the expiry of the court’s mandate, the funds allocated was ‘adequate’ to enable them carry out their duties.

“We shall continue talking to Treasury in order for them to allocate more funds to this ministry, which plays an important role in the administration of justice in the country,” he said.

Mr Hassan also accused the Treasury officials of frustrating the commission’s efforts to effectively carry out its mandate.

He said that they had requested the Ministry of Finance to allocate them Sh20 billion to enable them carry out various projects across the country.

However, Mr Hassan said that following consultations, their demands were scaled down to Sh12 billion then again to Sh5.3 billion without any explanation.

“Our mandate is big. We require a lot of funds to fulfil it, but this is not happening. Treasury must realise that democracy is expensive,” he added.

Due to the shortfall in funding, Mr Hassan said that they will now be forced to scale down some of their development projects, which include building and equipping district constituency offices.

Mr Hassan asked the Treasury to be more flexible and understand the nature of their work.

“We don’t plan when by-elections are held. We are, therefore, asking for full financial autonomy,” he said.