Uhuru's team on spot for spending Sh167.8 million on flowers, tea and snacks

juma chrispinus

February 15, 2018 10:43 AM

The KDF and NIS have been accused of 'having been involved in the election preparedness.'

The Office of the President allegedly spent a whopping Sh167.8 million on flowers, office tea and snacks, a figure which spiked in the run up to the last year’s twin elections, a report by the Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo revealed.

The report which is yet to be tabled, the reported on Thursday, further revealed that the Presidency spent additional Sh20.5 million on maintaining both President and Deputy President Limousines.

President Uhuru and his deputy Mr Ruto used up to Sh174.7million in 90 days on domestic travels during the campaign period.

On the other hand, the National Intelligence Service mysteriously spent Sh3.7 billion, which is suspected to have been used in partisan politics, the report unearthed. This is in addition to the Military’s expenditure of Sh24.4 billion in just 90days.

The analysis of the report, the Controller of Budget quipped, revealed an increase of Sh5.1 billion, up from the Sh19.3 billion spent during the same period in 2016.

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While the military was not actively involved in preparations for the polls, it was budgeted for separately under the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to a tune of Sh19 billion.

Dr Fred Matiang’i

Fred Matiang’i led Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government spent Sh14.8 billion last year due to the heightened activities prior to and after the controversial August 8 polls. The previous year, the ministry spent Sh13.5 billion.

Earlier, the Opposition and civil society groups had raised a red flag on the exorbitant expenditures at the presidency in the campaigns, especially on advertising Jubilee’s achievements which was contested din the Supreme Court during the presidential petition which quashed the re-election of Mr Kenyatta.

Numerous cabinet secretaries were directly involved in campaigning for the president in the run up to the August 7, 2017 general elections.

“We have seen Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries, who are paid by taxpayers, deployed to campaign for Jubilee Party,” NASA leader Raila Odinga complained in July last year.

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