Africa-Press – Kenya. Deputy President has denied that he requested Sh1.5 billion additional funding for his office immediately after he was elected last year. Speaking to Kikuyu vernacular radio stations on Friday, Gachagua said the funds had been frozen when William Ruto was the Deputy President.
The DP clarified that the restoration of the office’s budget was critical because the office is a public entity funded by taxpayers. “My office did not ask for any money, it just received allocation because it is a public office,” Gachagua said.
Gachagua said that the previous administration under retired President Uhuru Kenyatta had starved the office of funding to punish Ruto. “The amount mentioned was deducted when Ruto was still the deputy president,” he said.
Going forward, Gachagua said, president Ruto’s administration has embarked on restoring the dignity of the office with seamless funding from the exchequer.
“The government is trying to dignify the office again,” he said.
Former National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani had claimed that Gachagua’s office requested over Sh1.5 billion following their victory in last August’s general election.
Yatani had released documents to show that the Deputy President, through former State House Comptroller Kinuthia Mbugua, wrote to him on September 7, 2022, requesting Sh1.59 billion to “implement urgent planned activities.”
This came after the Controller of Budget Margret Nyakangó claimed that she was pushed to authorise the release of over Sh15 billion taxpayers’ money days to the August polls.
Mbugua stated that the Office of the Deputy President was experiencing increased activities and also needed to facilitate programmes of the Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President.
“The allocated approved budget for the FY 2022/23 under the Deputy President services program is not adequate to cater for the expenditure for the planned activities. The Office of the Deputy President, therefore, requests for additional funding for various expenditure items,” read part of the letter.
According to the letter, the DP’s office intended to spend Sh1.59 billion on purchasing motor vehicles (Sh300M), other operating expenses (Sh550 million), domestic travel (140 million), hospitality (Sh330 million), maintenance of motor vehicles (Sh70 million). Gachagua says these are the benefits that had been frozen when Ruto was the country’s second in command.
For More News And Analysis About Kenya Follow Africa-Press
