CONCLUDING REMARKS OF HON RAILA ODINGA AT MEETING WITH MEDIA PRACTITIONERS; JANUARY 14, 2016;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
We are convinced that we are in the middle of a great con game, treachery and thievery by the agents of the Kenyan state working in cahoots with international actors.
We are therefore making demands to prevent a repeat and ensure the criminals are apprehended and punished. Here are our demands:
We demand that Top National Treasury officials, namely the Cabinet Secretary Mr. Henry Rotich, the Principal Secretary Dr Kamau Thugge and the Accountant General Mr. Bernard Ndungu RESIGN IMMEDIATELY and be arraigned in court for committing the following acts or omissions:
Undermining the Constitution by refusing to deposit the Eurobond proceeds immediately and in full into the Consolidated Fund.
Concocting documents to cover up a massive loss of Public Funds.
Deliberately misleading the Public Accounts Committee and taxpayers that the Eurobond Proceeds were paid in full into the Consolidated Fund.
We demand that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York explains the veracity of the swift transfer document posted on the National Treasury’s website stating that a sum of 999 million US dollars from the Eurobond Proceeds was deposited in an account with the bank on 8th September 2014. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York should give a full account of where the Eurobond Proceeds went after they were deposited in that account.
We challenge the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to come out clearly and demonstrate that it was not a party to what is clearly an elaborate money laundering scheme by producing Bank Statements detailing movements of the Eurobond proceeds deposited in the Account between 8th September 2014 and 30th June 2015.
The JP Morgan Chase Bank (Johannesburg) Branch must account for the authenticity of the bank statements posted on the National Treasury’s website purporting to show that the Kenya Eurobond proceeds were deposited with them instead of the Parent Bank in New York. The bank must explain whether it is their practice to issue bank statements for clients who are customers of their Parent Bank in New York.
DEMANDS ON THE PRESIDENT
We demand that President Uhuru Kenyatta declares the Eurobond matter as a National Disaster and consequently undertake the following:
Institute an independent international Forensic Audit to completely track and trace the whereabouts of 999 million US dollars of the Eurobond Proceeds that were not paid into the Consolidated Fund.
Institute an audit of expenditure allegedly funded by the Eurobond proceeds;
Implement immediately the Treasury Single Account (TSA) to remove the plethora of opaque revenue collection accounts (such as the so called “Sovereign Bond Account”) through which corrupt government officials divert revenues into before revenues are paid into the Consolidated Fund. Indeed, under the IMF’s Precautionary Facility that Kenya signed up to in February 2015, the government committed to set up the Treasury Single Account.
Hasten the establishment of the Office of Management and Budget that the President announced on 24 November 2014 to tighten controls and oversight over National Government revenues and expenditure.
The Eurobond saga has exposed a shocking lack of capacity in accounting and financial management at the National Treasury. President Uhuru Kenyatta must declare this material deficiency in accounting and public financial management a National Disaster and shame; and consequently undertake the following:
Appoint persons with deep knowledge and experience of accounting and financial management to the highest levels of the National Treasury;
Restore the independence of the Office of the Auditor General (including over its Budgets and staffing) by removing this office from the Executive arm of government and transferring it to the National Assembly. Indeed that is the practice in Presidential Systems for example the USA where the General Accounting Office (GAO) falls under Congress, and is therefore insulated from interference by the Executive arm of Government;
President Uhuru Kenyatta must declare IFMIS a big failure, a sham, and scandal and task the National Treasury with implementing a world class and robust accounting system consistent with generally accepted public accounting standards. Indeed it would have been easy to account for and trace the Eurobond proceeds if the Treasury had a world class and truly integrated financial and management information system –the very acronyms of IFMIS.
HONOURABLE RAILA AMOLLO ODINGA
NAIROBI
14 JANUARY 2016
