URP MPs vow to block payment of Sh1.4b to Anglo Leasing firms

By Steve Mkawale and Charles Ngeno

Kenya: The controversial Motion on government’s proposal to pay Sh1.4 billion to companies behind Anglo Leasing contracts continued to draw mixed reactions from members of the National Assembly, even after the State withdrew the item from the order paper.

The payout has split members of Deputy President William Ruto’s United Republic Party (URP), with some accusing their CORD counterparts of playing cheap politics with the matter, yet they had participated in the previous payments of Sh7 billion.

Even as the Deputy President maintains that the Government would pay the Sh1.4 billion Anglo-Leasing companies only if Parliament approves the payments, a section of MPs from his party have vowed to oppose the payout.

Ruto’s Press Secretary David Mugonyi told The Standard on Sunday that the position of the government still remains that MPs have the final say on the way forward on the settling of bills and dismissed claims that the Government planned to honour payments to the firms linked to Anglo-Leasing projects.

“The Deputy President’s position on the matter has not changed. It is up to Parliament to decide on the matter,” said Mugonyi.

But several URP MPs told The Standard on Sunday they would reject any attempts by the Jubilee administration to use Parliament to sanction the illegal payments.

Last week, a section of legislators allied to the Jubilee Government, walked out on Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich when the Executive attempted to lobby them to support the controversial payment out. Yesterday, MPs from Rift Valley, Ruto’s political backyard, claimed that the Government was pushing for the payment of the Anglo Leasing financed projects because it was going to Europe to borrow Euro Bond, which is a loan charged at the interest rate of 5 per cent to finance development projects.

Narok West MP Patrick Ntutu and his counterpart in Narok East Ken Kiloku said the Executive must give more details and reasons why taxpayers’ money should be used in paying shadowy companies.

“The Executive must explain everything pertaining to the payments before we can even discuss it in Parliament. We raised those issues during the aborted caucus meeting with the Treasury Cabinet Secretary and other senior officials but they should know that Parliament will not be used to rubber stamp unpopular decisions,” said Ntutu.

Kiloku said the Jubilee administration was mistaken if it was planning to use its numbers in the National Assembly to settle the bills for the dubious projects.

“This time around the tyranny of numbers will work against them. Parliament will not be part of the scheme hatched to siphon public coffers,” he said.

However, Kipkelion East MP Joseph Limo differed with his colleagues and accused CORD of politicising the payout.

“For the past five years, the Government has been paying Anglo Leasing companies billions of shillings. In fact, the previous Narc administration and the grand coalition government paid a total of Sh7 billion to the companies linked to the scandal,” said Limo.

The MP said the Executive and Parliament must give clearer and precise information about the latest payments instead of trying to politicise the matter.

“The Government must give all the details to the public before tabling the Motion in Parliament to seek approval of payment. What has been lacking is information. By bringing the Motion to Parliament, the Government is only seeking approval from taxpayers through MPs,” said the lawmaker.

“The Deputy President’s stand on the matter still stands. It has not changed; the Government will not part with any single coin in payment for dubious projects whose origin it does not know about,” said Mugonyi. Bomet Central MP Ronald Tanui said he would oppose the payment until the Government unmasks the faceless people behind Anglo Leasing. “We demand to know the people that the Government faced at the Geneva Case. Let the payment be suspended and if the beneficiaries are Kenyans, then the Government should identify their assets before the payments,” said Tanui.

Molo MP Jacob Macharia said more about the contracts and the companies must be revealed to Kenyans before Parliament discusses the matter.

 “As a representative of the people of Molo, I will not be part of a group that would sanction such payments. Let the Executive understand that the billions of shillings it is planning to pay the bogus companies are needed elsewhere to provide essential services to the people of this country,” said the legislator.