I received over Ksh.377,000 to use Nairobi Expressway: Sifuna exposes extravagant Parliament budget

Making his submissions at the Senate on Wednesday, Sifuna recalled receiving a high figure allocated to his GK vehicle when he was appointed as the Deputy Minority Whip at the Senate. 

He noted that when he used the Nairobi Expressway on Wednesday morning, he was surprised to find out that he remained with Ksh.377,000 on his Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) card. The ETC system automatically pays the fee on toll roads without stopping the vehicle. 

"We need to relook at our budgets and see where we can make major cuts for the public to feel we're lessening the budget. When I became the Deputy Minority Whip, I was allocated a GK vehicle. On the first day that I used that car to go home, I used the expressway. I was shocked at the amount of money that is on my ETC card for my Parliamentary car. As of this morning, when I used that same car to come here, there is Ksh.377,000 on my ETC card," Sifuna pointed out. 

"It does not make sense, so what you do. MPs, staff have to be honest with Kenyans. There are ways of reducing the expenditure in a manner that will reduce the burden on taxpayers. I don't need all that money, even if I ran up and down the expressway for a year, I would never exhaust the amount. We must do this so that we demonstrate to the people that we are serious."

In the revised charges released on January 1, 2024,  the least amount a motorist can pay for using the Nairobi Expressway is Ksh.170 while the highest is Ksh.500. 

Sifuna noted that the anti-government protests staged by Kenyan youth exhibit their distress in the current leadership, emphasising that a radical change should occur. 

Further, he pointed out that he has since turned down invitations from media houses as Kenyans seek for leaders to stop talking and begin taking action. 

"All they are saying is that we as the leadership need to stop talking and listen to these young people. I have been turning down invitations to media houses because I'm asking why don't they invite the Gen Zs to speak," he pointed out. 

"Would you believe it that many Gen Zs are afraid that they will not leave the TV stations and get home because of either being arrested or detained. We need to show remorse as leaders."

The Senator also called for an audit of all cases that were withdrawn by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) in the past 24 months to determine the legal basis of the decision. He questioned why a politician accused of stealing billions of shillings is let off the hook after he agrees to return Ksh.300 million. 

"I want to call for an audit of all the cases that have been withdrawn in the past 12 or 24 months so that we understand the legal basis for the withdrawal of these cases," he pointed out.