Keter: TNA has short-changed Ruto’s party

By FAITH RONOH

KENYA: First-term Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter is a man at war with the top leadership of the Jubilee Alliance. His problem with the coalition on whose platform he was elected to Parliament is that his party, URP, and the region – Rift Valley – have been shortchanged in appointments to senior Government jobs. He spoke to The Standard on Sunday.  Excerpts:

Question: What is the root cause of your discontent with the Jubilee government and specifically Deputy President William Ruto?

Answer: I have been complaining about government appointments because most of them favour one side of government. The Jubilee coalition is made up of two parties – URP and TNA – but the appointments seemed to favour TNA leaving us out.

People from TNA have landed jobs in Government. Jane Waikenda was appointed Director of Immigration; John Mututho, Nacada: Lee Kinyanjui, National Transport and Safety Authority; Joseph Kinyua, the Head of Civil Service and many others. This made us realise that we are being shortchanged. The deal was 50:50 not just for Cabinet Secretaries and Permanent Secretaries but for all other appointments.

I don’t mean to say that URP belongs to a certain community but the two parties have a say when it comes to decision making. When it comes to development, the government clearly favours other regions leaving out others. That was not part of the agreement and it is totally unacceptable.

Tell us about alleged corruption in the procurement for the standard gauge railway

I had issues with the standard gauge railway because I discovered that it is a scandal worth Anglo Leasing and Goldenberg scandals combined.

 The money involved is about Sh1.3 trillion plus interest because it is a loan. If we engage in that contract, government will without doubt lose about Sh400 billion.

I have equally raised concerns over the cost of building a one-kilometre railway which is two million dollars but they are proposing six million dollars meaning Kenyans will lose four million dollars per kilometre.

The biggest undoing is not about the money involved in the process but the manner in which the whole process was done. The tendering procedures are in law and it states clearly that any amount exceeding Sh500,000 must be subjected to a competitive tendering process which did not happen for this particular case.

The Chinese government and our government are going into a government-government agreement which in procurement is not an issue. But still, you cannot avoid the tendering issue, you must follow procedure. Government should have allowed a competitive a tendering process to take place but instead it only allowed Chinese contractors to compete because all of them are funded by the Chinese government.

In short, I am not against the railway. I am supporting it because it will create employment and at the same time boost the economy but other than that we must have value for our money. Let Kenyans have the best deal.

 A section of leaders claim that some people have been paid to incite Kenyans against the government. Your comment?

No one has been paid. I am raising a concern that is already before the Public Accounts Committee and Public Investments Committee in Parliament. MPs have actually petitioned the standard gauge railway contract in Parliament. Some Kenyans have also moved to court so it’s not a personal matter. Who paid them?

They said the one who paid me was a contractor who lost the tender. The irony is that there was no tender in the first place. There was no loser. I want Kenyans to understand that there was no tender. Let them avoid sideshows. Most of those people are sycophants and they should stop blackmailing me.

Is it true that you lost a bid for state tenders as claimed by a section of Jubilee leaders?

No. They alleged that a chain of people lost the contract. They even said that I lost the contract myself but I do not have the capacity for such a huge contract. In fact no Kenyan has the capacity for such a huge contract.

Do you think the Deputy President has been given a raw deal in government despite a 50:50 coalition deal?

Yes. If you are not appointing anybody and they are appointing then it means you have lost it. Remember that there are so many CEOs that are still serving in acting capacity. Talk of NSSF, Kenya Power, Kenya Pipeline and others. They are qualified Kenyans and they must be confirmed. We also have issues in Nandi where forest evictees from Serengonik, Kipkurere and Ngatipkong have not been resettled.

I think the deputy president is being fixed. I see him going the direction of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in 2008 where he was used by former President Mwai Kibaki to evict Kenyans living in Mau. When he announced for instance that he wants to reduce the wage bill by sacking 100,000 people, he meant well. However, the political impact is huge because when you sack people who endure such high levels of dependency because of poverty, thousands of Kenyans will feel the effect. This will weaken his political grip not only in the Rift Valley but across the country. The decisions the government is making will be felt across the board.

Why have you strongly protested President Uhuru Kenyatta’s decision to retain officers in the previous regime who allegedly fixed the deputy president in his ICC case?

I have protested because I feel it is wrong. The ones retained were serving equally in the previous government. They must resign.

My protest is not only about the deputy president but all the other Kenyans who were accused at the ICC.

Some people think that you are the DP’s mouthpiece, is this true?

I am not. I am simply speaking my mind.

Will you stop speaking your mind as advised by other political leaders?

No. This is a war I am willing to die for because this world is more than just one individual. I am not ready to be a sycophant of anyone.