The National treasury revealed that taxpayers spent 260 million shillings to fund the state funeral of the former president of Kenya Emilio Mwai Kibaki.
According to the national government’s supplementary estimates, II for the 2021/23 financial year tabled in the National Assembly by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani on Tuesday evening, the 260 million shillings were released on April 25 after the former president was pronounced dead on April 22nd at 90 years.
Funds were granted to cater for the State burial of the third President of the Republic of Kenya,” Ukur Yatani, the Treasury Cabinet Secretary, said in the new mini-budget documents.
The 260 million shillings expenditure by the government was in line with Article 223 of the Constitution that allows the State to spend unapproved money by Parliament after which it is required to seek approval of parliament within two months after the first withdrawal of the money. However, the treasury did not show how the money was allocated. The treasury is now calling upon the parliament to approve the 260 million shillings which were withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund Services.
Treasury had earlier said it would stop funding Kibaki’s office, to save taxpayer’s money, adding that some workers would be reabsorbed in ministries and other agencies. The government had been providing plenty of financial benefits to the country’s third president since he left the office in 2013. Taxpayers have for years been paying for his fully furnished office and about 40 workers as well as a fleet of luxury cars offered to the president. He received a monthly pension of 2.85 million shillings or 34.2 million shillings annually.
During the state burial of Kenya’s second president, Taxpayers paid 300 million shillings to cater for the burial. The late former president’s casket alone cost Kenyans about 2 million shillings. Kenya’s second president who died aged 95 used two presidential rooms and the ICU for the four months he stayed at Nairobi hospital which charged 98,000 shillings per day.
At the same time, he received retirement benefits, including a fleet of luxury cars, a fully-furnished office, and about 40 workers since leaving office in 2002. He had been receiving a monthly pension equivalent to 80 percent of the salary paid to the sitting president. He was also entitled to four secretaries, two personal assistants, four messengers, four drivers, housekeepers, home cleaners, and bodyguards. Moi was also entitled to fuel (200, 000 shillings) house (300,000 shillings), and entertainment (200,000 shillings) allowances.
In 2015, a High Court judge stopped the government from paying allowances worth millions of shillings to Kibaki and Moi after finding that they were an unnecessary expense.
Running Moi’s and Kibaki’s offices cost taxpayers 243 million shillings in the year to June 2020.
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