A June 30, 2018 report by the Auditor General has revealed that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s political vehicle, Jubilee party is struggling to stay afloat.
The report that is before the National Assembly tells that the ruling party is surviving on the goodwill of well-wishers to meet its financial obligations.
As per the Auditor-General’s report as at June 2018, Jubilee’s liabilities stood at Ksh133 million against a total of Ksh 66 million in its assets.
This meant that the party was unable to pay its rent, staff and run other of its critical operations. However, the party’s Secretary-General came to its defence arguing that everything is well in the political vehicle.
“The party just received its share of the political party’s allocation from the exchequer. So we are paying our bills and are able to run our programs,” Tuju stated.
Tuju who is also a cabinet secretary without portfolio added that Jubilee’s accounts in the bank were on the positive side and that the party can account for the political parties registrar with respect to the money they receive.
“All our elected members are paying up with most of them being deducted at source,” Tuju affirmed.
Jubilee being the largest political outfit in parliament and the receiver of the highest presidential votes in the 2017 general election, the party is entitled to the Lions share from the Political Parties Fund.
In March 2019, Treasury was pushing for a change in law to cut the funds allocated to political parties annually.
The Political Parties Act of 2011 which established the Political Parties Fund set the condition that not less than 0.3 percent of the national revenues collected must be allocated to political parties.
Treasury argued that the amount it is supposed to issue political parties is so high that it can’t finance the Equalisation Fund and the National Government Constituencies Development Fund to whom it owes arrears.
“It is not only the political parties’ fund that we have arrears, but we also have not been able to fully provide funds to the Equalisation Fund and the CDF due to the constraint fiscal space,” Treasury chief administrative secretary Nelson Gachuhie, told the parliamentary Finance and National Planning Committee on Tuesday, March 19.
Gachuhie also stated that a bill was forwarded to the Attorney General for the reduction of the 0.3% funding threshold and discussions were ongoing with political party leadership to lower the funding to an agreeable figure.
