Image courtesy: The Standard
Part of what Gatundu #MPig says on the video that has been circulating on social media is partially true, but the real story is even more insidious!
Parliament is meant to approve EVERY budget line that the government proposes to spend and later verify that EVERY coin The Executive Arm proposed to spend has been spent on want was approved, service to Wanjiku. That is the principle of checks and balances.
This scrutiny is done through mainly the Public Accounts Committee (Abwabu anyone?), Budget and Appropriations Committee (Mutava Musyimi anyone?) & the Public Investments Committee among others.
The Auditor-General, an Independent Office, is parliament's audit arm. Many Kenyans don't realize that the AG is actually meant to help parliament hold the executive, the judiciary as well as county governments to account by ensuring resources are spent on what was budgeted for.
(It is indeed poetic justice that #UhuRuto sycophants were busy bashing the AG, who's actually their watchdog. See your life now oo!)
Treasury (Executive) proposes a budget for the year, parliament scrutinizes it and approves it with or without amendments, GoK spends, Auditor General audits the spending, parliament scrutinizes the audits and ideally approves if correct or sanctions if there are audit queries.
So how did #UhuRuto circumvent this rigorous Wanjiku scrutiny?
1. The new National CDF Act pegged CDF funds on 2.5% of what MPs approve for the National Government to spend.
For example, if say national government requests parliament to allow it to spend 1 million shillings and parliament says you can only spend 500,000 shillings, the money available to be divided among MPs as CDF for their constituencies will be 2.5% of 500,000.
If Treasury presents to parliament a budget proposal of 1 million shillings and parliament amends and approves 2 million, then money available to be divided among MPs as CDF is 2.5% of 2 million... if #UhuRuto present a 3 trillion shillings budget and parliament approves it as is, then the money available to be divided among MPs as CDF for their constituencies will be 2.5% of 3 trillion. Capiche? You get the picture?
In effect, the more money parliament approves for UhuRuto, the more money MPs get as CDF. #UhuRuto basically bribed parliament to look the other way!
This explains why #MPigs approved raising the debt ceiling. It just means more cash to them, so it's a no brainer! 🤷🏾♂
Next...
2. The Inter-governmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC), chaired by the #DeePee and served by Treasury mandarins as its Secretariat, was created to help coordinate resource management between the National and County Government. It is an executive body (national and county) advising the legislature on budgets that are made by the executive.
What has happened in the #UhuRuto era is that the Treasury does budgets, then IBEC, which is manned by treasury mandarins, advises parliament on these budgets. It has cut off the parliamentary committees mentioned above meant to scrutinize and approve budgets. Treasury has used IBEC to cut off parliament and an accountability arm for Wanjiku.
In effect, Treasury budgets, approves its own budgets, and then accounts to itself by self-auditing. Now you know why the Auditor General has been under fire for trying to do his job.
Lastly, please note who chairs the IBEC, then you will undefeated why we are so screwed economically as a country.
Moses Kuria aache machozi ya chura!
#NiHayoTu
#UshenziKE!
