Posts tagged ‘odm’

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March 28, 2011

Ugenya Worst CDF Performer

About Sh444 million Constituency Development Fund (CDF) money and Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF) have been misappropriated in 28 constituencies and five local authoritiesAccording to a report, released on Monday by National Taxpayers’ Association, Ugenya Constituency, represented by Lands Minister James Orengo was the worst performer in utilization of the funds in the financial year 2007/2008.The Constituency is reported to have wasted Sh10.8 million of the Sh20.7 million awarded during the year under review. This represents 53 per cent of the amount awarded.(ODM chungwa moja- maisha bure)However, an individual who claimed he was representing the minister told NTA that the problem was inherited from the past leadership of the Constituency.

The second worst performer was Bumula Constituency, represented by Lands Assistant minister Bifwoli Wakoli, which misused Sh49.2 million of the Sh96.9 million disbursed to it. This represents 51 per cent of the disbursement.The third worst constituency was Kanduyi, represented by Alfred Khang’ati recording Sh52.6 million in wasted funds of the Sh120 million awarded. This represented 44 per cent of the funds disbursed.NTA National Coordinator, Mr Kizito Wangalwa said there is still a lot of taxpayers’ money being wasted calling on the citizens to be vigilant.”The citizens still remained dissatisfied with the use of taxpayers’ money. A lot is going to waste,” said Mr Kizito.NTA’s Communications Officer, Mr Davies Adieno said during their investigations they found out that most Kenyans are ignorant of the financial management of their money thus some leaders take advantage of this to misuse the taxes.

“We found out that some Kenyans are ignorant of how their taxes should be managed and some people have taken advantage to squander the money,” said Mr Adieno.One of thebest Constituency is Matuga, represented by Trade minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere, which recorded ShSh731,370 in misused funds. This represents four percent of the Sh19 million disbursed.On Local authorities Tana River County Council misused the most money at Sh3.7 million, out of the Sh7.6 million awarded.CDF constitute 2.5 per cent of the national ordinary revenue.

Complete Report -National Taxpayers’ Association

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March 31, 2010

Prosecutor To Investigate Kenya Violence

Moreno Ocampo

Netherlands — International judges said Wednesday the frenzy of killing and violence that erupted after Kenya’s disputed 2007 presidential elections may amount to crimes against humanity and authorized the court’s prosecutor to investigate.Weeks of violence after President Mwai Kibaki was declared winner of Kenya’s December 2007 elections left more than 1,000 dead and forced 600,000 to flee their homes.Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, who asked the International Criminal Court in November for clearance to investigate the clashes, urged Kenya’s leaders to work with him.

“President Kibaki’s and Prime Minister (Raila) Odinga’s commitment to justice and to cooperation with the ICC is crucial,” he said.By a 2-1 majority, the three judges who studied Moreno Ocampo’s request and 1,500 pages of accompanying evidence said it provides a “reasonable basis to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed on Kenyan territory.”The world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal has jurisdiction to take on the case, they said.

The decision was welcomed by Hassan Omar Hassan of the Kenya National Commission of Human Rights, who said it is the first step toward combating impunity. “It is a victory for the victims of the postelection violence, especially the women and children,” Hassan said in Nairobi.Moreno Ocampo said the judges’ approval for him to investigate means “there will be no impunity for those most responsible” for the violence.”Justice will contribute to preventing future crimes in Kenya,” he said. Moreno Ocampo planned to give a news conference Thursday about his next steps in the case.

His office began evaluating the Kenyan violence in January 2008. In July, former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, who mediated an end to the fighting, sent Moreno Ocampo a sealed envelope with the names of suspected ringleaders named by an independent commission.The commission kept the names secret, saying they were powerful individuals who could interfere with future investigations, but did say that a handful of Cabinet ministers, business people and police officers were listed.Moreno Ocampo said he was not bound by the commission’s findings and would conduct his own investigation. He said he hoped the inquiry would prevent violence during Kenyan elections in 2012.The Kenya investigation will be the court’s fifth since opening its doors in 2002 – all of them based in Africa.It also marks the first time the prosecutor has called on judges to open an investigation. In other cases, the countries involved or the U.N. Security Council asked for the court to investigate.

Judges said Moreno Ocampo’s investigation into alleged crimes against humanity could span a period from June 2005 – the date Kenya joined the court – to November 2009 – the date Moreno Ocampo requested the investigation.Moreno Ocampo said the investigation should unite Kenya and its people.”This is a moment for Kenyans to come together,” he said. “To understand and acknowledge what happened. To make sure it will never happen again.”

Former Kenyan parliament member Jayne Kihara told The Associated Press she expected to be investigated by the court since she was named earlier by the independent commission.But she insisted she is innocent. “If there is going to be an investigation they will never get me. I did not do anything. I was not there,” said Kihara, who lost her parliament seat in 2007 for the area of Naivasha, one of the flashpoints of violence.

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August 16, 2009

Catalogues Of Failures

Najivunia Kuwa Mkenya Swahili  for  “I am proud to be a Kenyan”  that is conspicuously printed on colourful hand bills circulated by the office of the Government Spokesman, Alfred Mutua.  The Spokesman is always reluctant to elaborate to curious Kenyans on what to be proud about in the country whose Golden Jubilee is less than four years away.  Like any other citizen,  Dr Mutua is too familiar with the habitual chest thumping, self praise while the country mires in catalogues of failures that so far outweigh its successes. Our shortcomings and misplaced priorities are many and countless; but few examples illustrate the gravity of policy weaknesses and laxity in moving this country to another level.

lundy_chart_02The proud and enduring Kenyan sleeps on an empty  stomach because the shameless political class have depleted the strategic grain reserves in a race to a millionaire status. Rains have failed, drought has set in, livestock are dying in numbers as famine looms large with 10 million people threatened with starvation Eighteen months ago even a fool knew there would be famine after post election violence uprooted farming families from crop fields in the bread basket Rift Valley region. No emergency measures were put in place to forestall the looming disaster by those who want Kenyans to believe that everything is okay in the country that often boasts success in the vicinity of imminent failure.

The income per capita of some of the Asian Tigers was lower or compared to Kenya at independence in 1963.  Today, we are shameless beggars of famine relief from countries that were no better in economic terms. More than four decades later the country still imports sewing needles, razor blades and other cheap items from China amongst other Asian countries. Amongst third world countries, Kenya is a lucky one that should be the last to be lumped together with failures.  It boasts infrastructure,  industries and communications network  unsurpassed by its contemporaries save for South Africa.  Because of its strategic importance, the country hosts the headquarters of two UN specialised agencies whose expertise and resources are at the disposal of the country to push itself to role model level.  There are no immediate tangible plans to do away with unplanned settlements in urban areas and in the cities that house the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (HABITAT) Ironically, the country is home to the biggest slum in Africa amongst others that mushroomed in the post-independent period.Another UN agency on environment, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is based here but the country is far off from being an environmental conservation model given the raging debate on water catchments destruction and careless waste disposal.   Unfortunately, we have not reciprocated the honour to host  these UN bodies.

It is worth noting that the leadership of this country once declared poverty, ignorance and disease as number one national enemies.  Today, these enemies are not our best of friends but are incontestable bedfellows of  some of  who survive on less than a dollar a day and resident in the many unplanned urban settlements.Mr Government Spokesman, do the foregoing scenarios strike you as success stories to be proud of or should we be an object of self  pity?. Time  to  conduct a postmortem  on  when the rain started beating us  is now not tomorrow before reference is made on fifty years of  lost and missed opportunities. Some of the countries with success records never chest-thump but do a lot of soul searching on how to  put food on the table. It is not a distant dream here though. A constitution should  be amended  now to allow  for a dual citizenship  so that  Kenyans  in the Diaspora  can  participate  in building this economy.

Those who suffer in silence are not amused at the Najivunia campaign  posters but make a mockery of the phrase “Navumilia Kama  Mkenya”.

By J .Kamotho


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May 28, 2009

Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC)

While Kenyans praise  the setting up of a body by Parliament to investigate historical injustices with a view to reconciling communities torn apart by ethnic hatred and inequalities, doubts surround the success of such an initiative.Negotiators named by post-war leaders to the international mediation group were of the view that signing of the National Accord without putting in place mechanisms to heal the war wounds would be an exercise in futility.A raft of proposals towards possible reconciliation and peaceful co-existence were made, one being the setting up of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) to investigate historical injustices, including the eruption of post-election violence.Nobody in Kenya can claim the cloak of a saint before the TJRC.

In adult life, everybody in this country is an accomplice in meting out injustices. Since violence or political assassinations always have leaders’ blessings, how will this commission summon such personalities without provoking ethnic animosity?

Only the privileged class can get away with injustices as was evidenced by the 2007 general elections. Kenyans who bear the scars of senseless protests against bungled election results were not the contestants for the top seats.The big question is, what constitutes injustices in the eyes of the commission and the public? Caution, patience and sobriety should be the guides if the country is to forestall a recurrence of violence.Some of the heart-rending testimonies by victims and the stone faces of the perpetrators could be stressful. The commission could be presiding over the disintegration of the nation or perform a miracle to restore the short-lived unity at independence.

The latter is unlikely where negative ethnicity has deepened in all sectors including the Legislature.The leaders across the divide should convene a national healing conference as part of the preparation of the perpetrators and victims to look at the commission, not as a witch-hunter or a trial court, but as a peace-broker.

Going by recent inflammatory statements by leaders after the burial of Kiambaa church fire victims and the conspicuous absence of some coalition leaders, it is safe to conclude that we have forgotten that the country was engulfed in one of the worst violence in living memory.It is thus upon the two principals to rise to the occasion and save the coalition and the country from disintegration.Given the sensitivity of the terms of reference of the commission, the coalition government should move with speed to reinforce the confidence of Kenyans in the healing process.The unease in the coalition government that was crafted out of the ashes of a bloody war should not be a hindrance to the smooth functions of the commission. The TJRC process should not be turned into another public relations exercise to hoodwink the international community, which insisted on reconciliation rather than confrontation.An appearance by leaders across the divide would encourage the perpetrators and victims to fearlessly testify at the commission that seeks to reconcile communities and individuals who regard their neighbours as arch-enemies.

By Joseph Kamotho. EGH.

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May 16, 2009

Appeasement Of Anti-Kikuyus Will Never Work

“You may gain temporary appeasement by a policy of concession to violence,but you do not gain lasting peace that way”.Anthony Eden 

DN .The entire top ODM leadership on Thursday skipped the burial of victims of the arson attack on a church in the Rift Valley district of Eldoret during the post-election violence which had been billed as a reconciliation gesture between different communitiesPrime Minister Raila Odinga, deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, Agriculture minister William Ruto, ODM national chairman Henry Kosgey and local MP Peris Simam, all failed to show up at the ceremony presided over by President Kibaki. The arson of the Eldoret church was one of the most brutal attacks of the post-election violence which followed the declaration of the 2007 presidential election.

Standard -Burned Kenya Assembly of God Church burials the Orange Democratic Movement boycotted on Thursday, have scoured old wounds in the Grand Coalition.The internment boycotted by Kalenjin leaders has renewed the cat and mouse games between President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity and Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement. The groundswell stands out in the Rift Valley – ODM’s stronghold and the hotspot of post-election chaos – where local MPs stayed out of the State burial organised for 36 victims of the bloodletting.Fourteen of those buried in the church compound died in the fire that destroyed the shrine. The other 22 bodies were collected around the area and were not identified or claimed.President Kibaki’s presence at the Kiambaa burial, the first for victims of post-election violence, PNU’s proposal to split Rift Valley Province, plans for a monument at the church, which Kalenjin leaders insist was not destroyed by their youth, and the decision to bring in bodies collected elsewhere, triggered the ODM boycott.Those who did not attend, leaving the burial to members of one community, Government officials and PNU leaders, say they did not want to be accused of displaying double-standards because they were not at the burial of the party youths killed in the violence that was at its worst in January and February, last year.

Others claimed there was favouritism for a section of the Internally Displaced Persons and by attending the burial it would seem they would be endorsing this, courting a political backlash among their communities.At least one MP, speaking in confidence because of the sensitivity of the matter, claimed they would not be part of Kiambaa burials because of the feeling it was hyped to cast their party as the aggressor and PNU the victim.”Why did they bury them in the church? We have public cemeteries. Why bring in bodies that had nothing to do with the church fire? Why build a monument if we are pursuing healing? Should we also erect monuments everywhere our children were killed as a perpetual reminder of what happened?” asked an ODM MP.

*Eldoret Church Suspects Set Free

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February 11, 2009

Protected: William Ruto

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February 6, 2009

Maize flour price to double as government abandons rebate

February 5, 2009: A price surge was on Wednesday looming in the maize flour market after the government withdrew the Sh200 rebate it was offering millers for every bag of maize.The subsidy had been aimed at making the staple more affordable to the majority of Kenyans who had in November complained that prices had risen beyond their means.Millers on Wednesday said they had been informed at a meeting with Agriculture minister William Ruto of the decision to withdraw the rebate, leaving the pricing to market forces.No reasons were given for the sudden withdrawal although the government was understood to have been unable to shoulder the financial burden.The announcement was immediately followed by a warning from millers that the price of the staple could rise beyond the Sh120 per two kilogramme bag that prevailed before the subsidy was announced. Although the government has waived duty on the grain, it is unlikely to stop an upward revision in prices in the face of a shortage.

On Wednesday, however, the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) denied that it had stopped supplies to millers at subsidised price.“We are still giving millers maize at Sh1, 750. The SGR board of trustees have allocated the maize and NCPB awaits to collects and the miller shave not collected the maize.” A spot-check in some outlets on Wednesday revealed that key brands were missing from the shelves and prices of those available had increased.“To alleviate the current supply situation, we need subsidies to allow maize imports to reach the millers at Sh1, 750 and keep consumer prices low,” said Ms Paloma Fernandes, the chief executive of the Cereals Millers Association.Until last week, the ex-factory price of maize flour was Sh65 per two kilogramme. They now range between Sh90 and Sh95, up from Sh72 per two kilogramme packet. The millers were by then getting maize at Sh1, 750 for processing the subsidised flour and at Sh1, 950 for commercial supplies. This had led to a confusing two-tier pricing structure with the subsidised selling at Sh130 per five kilogramme bag and the normal flour at Sh72 per two kilogramme bag.

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January 13, 2009

Anglo Maizing Scandal-Corruption In Kenya

Even as the country stands on a brink of starvation more twists are emerging in the maze importation deal that has shifted from an intervention measure to what appears to be a mega scandal. Fears now abound that the tax payer could loose billions, unless the well executed cartel is nipped in the bud. The shady deals have now boiled to the surface with ministers trading accusations as to who could be behind the maize importation scams. Prime Minister Raila Odinga is the latest victim of the emerging saga. The legislators said the PM has stood in the way of engaging another grain handling company slowing down the clearance of the imported cereals. They also accuse the PM of favouring a member of his family in the maize importation process that is becoming more of a financial scandal than crisis solving mechanism.

The latest hint that taxpayers in Kenya are losing billions to corrupt elements in the government was dropped by Justice Minister Martha Karua who blamed some cabinet colleagues for the looming food crisis stopping short of calling it artificial. A section of parliamentarians claimed that an estimated Sh2 billion could have already been lost in the corrupt deals involving maize importation. Though Agriculture minister William Ruto has banned all exports of maize by invoking section 30 of the NCPB Act, the rogue middlemen are still getting away with the same.

Once in Southern Sudan, the commodity goes for more than three times the cost compared to Kenya. While NCPB sells the maize to millers and middlemen at a price of Sh1750 per 90 kilogramme bag, the middlemen repackage the commodity and export it to Southern Sudan where it goes for about Sh6000 for the same quantity. The situation is getting so desperate that the even the low cost maize flour unveiled by the Government a month ago has served little purpose as more and more Kenyans join the list of those in need of urgent food rations to avert a food crisis.The situation is compounded by the fact that thousands of maize bags valued at over Sh150 million have been allocated to questionable millers in what is fast developing into a huge scandal in the wake of a seemingly divided government. Middlemen and brokers that the Prime Minister and Agriculture minister William Ruto promised to eliminate in the maize importation deal are reported to be on the loose and more vicious than before.

They are taking advantage of a desperate situation to cut deals with willing government officials denying the bona fide beneficiaries of the imported maize and making quick kills while the government officials are in for huge kickbacks even as thousands face starvation. Initial reports indicated that out of the 144,000 bags of maize given to large milling companies by the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), only 40,000 could be accounted for in terms of milled flour

Over 100,000 bags remained unaccounted for even as the government remains mum on the issue. Some briefcase milling companies with no known physical addresses are said to have inflated their milling capacity leading to a situation where hey were allocated more than they can manage. Surprisingly, no serious follow-up measures are being undertaken by the government to reign in these crooks casting aspersions and doubts to where the government stands on the matter.

A report on the investigations into the corrupt deals associated with milling companies is expected to be handed to Attorney General by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission for possible prosecution. Insiders in the industry however point to a possibility where the NCPB could have colluded with the millers to inflate their milling capacity and therefore blackmailed the government on the issue.

Story by: lumiti khabuchi

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January 6, 2009

Kenyan Media Bill 2008 PDF

(PDF File)The Kenya Communications Bill

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September 11, 2008

Salim Lone Retires-Good riddance to bad rubbish

Good Riddance To Bad Rubbish.
Enough said………….

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February 23, 2008

Maina Kiai needs to be honest – Billow Khalid

While on US tour, Mr Maina Kiai, the chairman of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, and Ms Muthoni Wanyeki asked their American hosts to freeze all military financial assistance to Kenya.They wrote in the Washington Post that “some of the security forces benefiting from this aid and equipment have been killing Kenyan civilians with impunity.There is no doubt that the country has been experiencing ferocious eruptions of violence since December 30, 2007.

The four words, happy, home, peace and prosperity are heavenly music to the ears of traumatised and displaced Kenyans.The Kenya Army has played and will for sure continue to play its rightful role by clearing highways of marauding gangs, securing the national economic arteries,maina kiai escorting public transports, and providing medical services.While some 57 brave police officers have died in the violence in the line of public service, I have not heard of a single civilian killed by the military during these public unrest.What got me worried, however, are the serious, unsubstantiated aspersions on the integrity of our Armed Forces coming, as it were, from a highly placed and a jurist of Mr Kiai’s status.

To begin with, the Kenyan qualifying to be a member of the country’s military takes an oath to uphold the Constitution of the Republic and defend the country against all enemies, to bear true allegiance and to discharge well and faithfully, the duties of office.Most of them attend to their duties with fidelity, valour and patriotism. Our security personnel operate under difficult and risky environment.

They are like all public officers, the glue holding the country together.Without their exemplary sense of fidelity, the country could not have endured in its present form since the turbulent times of the 60s.The least the military personnel expect are encouragement, appreciation and understanding of their heroic contributions, not unjustified condemnation for crimes they have not committed.

BILLOW KHALID,
Wajir.

http://billowkhalid.blogspot.com/


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February 23, 2008

Shocking BBC interview of Kalenjin Church Burners and Jackson Kibor

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