Former Treasury CS Ukur Yatani has denied forcing Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o to make a Sh15 billion payment days before the 2022 polls.
In a statement on Wednesday, the former minister said the claims were false and malicious and were only meant to tarnish his name.
Yatani cites Article 223 of the constitution that allows the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury to authorize expenditures that have not been appropriated by Parliament in certain situations, adding that once such funds are committed, “Article 223 (2) provides that parliamentary approval is sought post-facto within a period of two months.”
“This is a constitutional fact and practice. For the Controller of Budgets… to suggest that I pressured her to authorize “some payments” without parliamentary approval is therefore calculated malice,” he explains.
Read: I was Forced to Release Sh11 Billion Before August Polls – Controller of Budget
According to the former minister, the monies in question were approved in respect to fuel and maize subsidies as well as allocation to the construction of Lamu-Garissa and Garissa-Isiolo Roads.
“The funds were also allocated to the construction of a modern referral hospital facility for Kenya’s Defence Forces. This facility was recently opened by H.E President Dr. William Ruto. If indeed the said Ksh15 billion was stolen, how did the President commission this hospital?” he poses.
Also, the former Treasury CS notes that the President William Ruto-led administration recently used the same constitutional requirements of Article 223 to sanction a Sh127.5 billion expenditure for the national government through a supplementary budget that was passed last week.
“This begs the question: What makes this approval of Ksh.15 billion ‘sneaky’ and that of the Ksh.127.5 billion before parliament and mostly under the current government legitimate? Yet they both used the same constitutional path. This suggests some form of targeted malice and selective application of her discretion to shield herself from the uncertainty of regime change,” he says.
Read Also: Fuel, Maize Subsidies Used to Fund Raila Campaign – Malala Claims
He adds that Rigathi Gachagua, the deputy president, asked his office to approve and release Sh1.59 billion for his office use immediately after the 2022 elections.
Yatani claims that due to financial limitations, he was unable to grant the request, which included Sh300 million for cars.
“It included Ksh300 million for cars, and Ksh330 million for hospitality, a request that I did not grant in full but considered an amount of Kshs 500 Million due to the financial constraints we had at that time,” he adds.
On the WhatsApp messages shared by Nyakang’o with a Parliamentary committee on Tuesday, Yatani said he is considering taking legal action against her.
“This depiction is libelous and defamatory to my character and professional service to the public in many capacities. I have instructed my lawyers to study her utterances and advice on a lawsuit against her person.”
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