Photo/FILE Deputy Prime Minister and Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure at the Treasury has been plagued by missteps, especially on issues revolving around the Budget.
By EMEKA-MAYAKA GEKARA
Posted Saturday, June 4 2011 at 21:14
Posted Saturday, June 4 2011 at 21:14
Debate is raging on Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenya’s admission that he breached the Constitution by delaying the submission of Budget estimates.
Questions are being raised whether it was a case of work overload due to the attention he could be focusing on his pending case at the International Criminal Court, complacency, negligence or is simply not up to the job.
Mr Kenyatta’s tenure at the Treasury has been plagued by missteps, especially on issues revolving around the Budget.
In 2009, there was the jaw dropping Sh9.2 billion “typing error”. The minister then admitted there was an error in the supplementary budget after it was alleged in Parliament that it was riddled with inaccuracies.
However, he maintained that the spending figure had not been tampered with.
This time round the minister is again in a spot over his handling of the Budget preparation. The issue is the subject of a court case and House debate.
Moved to court
Mr Ndung’u Wainaina, executive director of the International Centre for Policy and Conflict, moved to court accusing Mr Kenyatta of breaching the Constitution by failing to submit the estimates to Parliament 60 days to the end of the financial year.
The move could stall government operations were the High Court to grant his plea to stop the budget reading.
On Tuesday, Speaker Kenneth Marende is expected to make a ruling on whether the Finance minister should go ahead and read his Budget on June 8, after a clear breach of the Constitution.
The borne of contention is that Mr Kenyatta did not comply with article 221 of the Constitution, which requires him to submit the estimates to the Parliamentary Budget Committee for scrutiny before Budget reading.
The Article says: “At least two months before the end of each financial year, the Cabinet Secretary responsible for finance shall submit to the National Assembly estimates of the revenue and expenditure of the national government for the next financial year to be tabled in the National Assembly.”
However, Mr Kenyatta has pleaded with the MPs to allow the Budget process to continue despite the breach.
“We may not have lived to the strict letter of the Constitution with regard to the time lines, but more than other institutions, we at the Treasury have nonetheless operated in the spirit of the new Constitution,” Mr Kenyatta said on Thursday.
In a statement to the Nation, a number of youth groups asked President Kibaki to transfer Mr Kenyatta to a “light” ministry.
“Mr Kenyatta’s tenure at the Treasury has turned into unmitigated chaos with one error after another,” said the statement by the National Youth Convention.
“The minister’s case at the International Criminal Court could be distracting him and draining energies that should be directed to his work at the Treasury,” said Mr Emmanuel Dennis, of the convention.
“His conduct creates doubt on his ability to defend the Constitution, which he is breaching, if he is elected President,” added the youth leader. However, Dr Tom Namwamba of Kenyatta University defended the minister.
“The Budget issue is being politicised,” said the lecturer who linked the controversy to the next presidential election. Mr Kenyatta is keen to succeed President Kibaki.
“The minister is a victim of loopholes in the new Constitution. Budget making is a long technical process, which requires time.”
Cabinet ministers Mutula Kilonzo (Justice), James Orengo (Lands) and Mr Charles Nyachae, the chairman of the Constitution Implementation Commission, as well as Gichugu MP Martha Karua were this week unanimous that the minister had broken the law.
Mr Kilonzo and Mr Orengo pointed out that Article 221 was in force. “Perhaps it was negligence. The Treasury may have forgotten that Article 221 is in force,” the Justice minister told Parliament.
Others backing the view were Mandera Central MP Abdikadir Mohammed, who is also the chair of the oversight committee on implementation of the Constitution as well as Mr Ababu Namwamba, former chairman of the Justice and Legal committee.
Mr Mohammed said the minister was already in contempt of the law and should rectify the problem before the matter moved on. “We’re not seeking his indulgence. Part of Parliament’s work is oversight, so we demand compliance from the Treasury,” he added.
Mr Elias Mbau, chairman of the Budget Committee, asked the minister to “confess to the public and seek forgiveness”.
But in a move seen as an attempt by the Cabinet to help Mr Kenyatta save face, it on Thursday, “agreed” that article 221 would start applying after the next election.
“The Cabinet was unanimous that the provisions relevant to the presentation of the Budget will be strictly applicable after the next General Election,” read a Presidential Press Service statement.
And on Friday, Prime Minister Raila Odinga reinforced the Cabinet position during his tour of Nyamira County.
“There is a new policy in the Constitution that requires the Budget estimates to be made public to Parliament before the actual reading.
This should, however, take effect after the next elections,” he said.
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