State to clear claims by Jan 15, says Githu

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By ALPHONCE SHIUNDUashiundu@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Wednesday, August 1  2012 at  22:30

Every person with legitimate claims against the government will be paid before the term of the Tenth Parliament expires on January 15, 2013, Attorney-General Githu Muigai has said.

Prof Muigai on Wednesday told Parliament that his office was doing an audit to determine how much the government owed people and who the claimants were, and ensure that the money— estimated to run into billions of shillings— is paid out.

“My office will take an audit of all the pending claims, including human rights violations, some of which are already in court and some of which damages have been awarded, tort claims and contract claims,” he said.

But Prof Muigai was hard-pressed to explain where the money would come from.

Dr Abdi Nuh (Bura) reminded the AG that budgeting for the 2012/13 financial year had already been done, and that there was no money in the budget for payment of civil liabilities and other claims against government.

Dr Nuh noted that the Supplementary Budget — a sort of top-up to the national budget with re-allocations to different government departments — was traditionally tabled in March and approved in May.

This means that inevitably, it will be within the ambit of the next Parliament to approve the said payments.

The AG responded that he had “merely expressed a wish” and hoped to see it done.

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That statement put the whole commitment he had made to the House in doubt, but he said he was keen to ensure that payments were made.

Tort claims are those that civilians file against the government, for example when they are involved in road accidents by government vehicles, and injury by wildlife.

“The audit would tell the government who it owed, how much it owed and ensure that all these money was paid.

“We hope to have a comprehensive Cabinet memorandum so that by the end of this parliamentary term, the government will not have any pending claims against it,” Prof Muigai said.

The AG also disclosed that, together with Kisumu Town West MP Olago Aluoch, they were working on changes to the Government Proceedings Act — the law that guides the payment of claims (mainly civil liabilities) against the government.

The matter of claims came to the House through Mumias MP Benjamin Washiali, who had sought to know why a Mrs Lydia Muhonja Mumia, had not been paid, despite having successfully sued the government over a road accident, and awarded damages.

The accident happened 20 years ago, but the claimant has not been paid. The amount has so far increased to Sh450,000, due to interest.

Report to President

Prof Muigai promised to report to the President any permanent secretary or accounting officer who failed to adhere to court rulings.

“Any government officer who ignores the decisions of the government’s chief legal adviser does so at their own peril. I will not extend the services of my office to defend a case where they have been cited for contempt of court,” he said.

“Persistent, consistent failure to pay legitimate court awards, is misconduct on the part of the permanent secretary, for which I believe there must be sanctions from the appointing authority. They should be surcharged for this kind of monies,” the Attorney-General decreed.