Kenya is not financing Haiti Mission, government now says

The government has denied funding the Haiti peacekeeping mission, noting that the excercise is financed by the United Nations.

"It is completely untrue that the current deployment of our police is being underwritten by our exchequer. The actual position is that this deployment is being underwritten by the United Nations," said Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei.

He said that the UN has released adequate funds to run the excercise.

The statement comes after recently the government revealed that Kenya is temporarily funding the Haiti peacekeeping mission,.

It also comes weeks after the National Treasury released Sh2.1 billion to support the UN-backed mission. 

"That fund, like we have indicated, is sufficient to be able to keep our deployment all the way until March, April of next year," he said even as he failed to disclose when they will repay the money as earlier promised.  

Last month, the Treasury announced that the money was released "on behalf of the UN," and that "we are the ones making the payment so the money comes from our exchequer because these are our officers.” 

"So we pay and they refund, but now we have to recognize the expenditure because it was not in the budget. The law says two months should not elapse, and when we do supplementary budgeting, we will reflect it as both income and expenditure,” Treasury CS John Mbadi said.

PS Sing'oei also said "discussions are going on, as a matter of fact, at the UN Security Council, where a resolution is being presented with a view to try to transition the financing of our deployment in Haiti." 

These details emerged on Friday during a press briefing where the Ministry outlined its achievements in the last one year. 

Prime Cabinet Secretary said the ministry has overseen several bilateral improvements in various cadres of the economy including trade, investment, labour and diplomacy among others

He said numerous State visits that President William Ruto's administration has been criticised over, has contributed  to the economic growth of the country including agreements signed between Kenya and Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Ghana and other countries beyond the continent like the United States. 

"State visit to the United States of America which centered on key areas of cooperation, including trade and investment, climate change, security, health, and technology, and designation of Kenya as a major non-NATO partner reinforcing Kenya's role as a regional leader in the region," said Mudavadi. 

He added: "A state visit from Somalia facilitated the opening of vital trade channels, expanding aviation connectivity and enhancing market access...from Poland, an MOU was signed regarding the Tax Solidarity Programme, unlocking financing for various projects." 

He said the ongoing and upcoming projects initiated by the multilateral agreements such as construction of roads, extension of Standard Gauge Railway to Kampala among others in the energy sector are financed by consensiory funds. 

The PCS also noted that the country had earned Sh260 billion from diaspora remittances within the first five months of this year alone. 

"In September 2024, remittance inflows were Sh54.4 billion (US$418.5) million, which was a 22.9% increase from September 2023," he said, further registering an anticipation of increase in remittances, with over 1700 secured overseas jobs for Kenyans.

"Remittances from the Diaspora are projected to increase to USD 4.9 billion for 2024, an increase from USD 4.1 billion from the last year," he said. 

His Ministry, he also noted, has contributed to peace-building initiatives across the region, with the recent Tumanini initiative looking to stabilise the war-torn South Sudan,

And in the diplomatic front, he said, the country has expanded its diplomatic footprint by opening a new Embassy in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Rabat in Morocco, and a Consulate General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to increase Kenya's influence in the global arena. 

In the year ahead, we shall open a Consulate General in Guangzhou, China, as well as in Port-au-Prince, Haiti,' he said.