Ksh. 1.59B for cars, furniture, travel: Yatani now reveals 'urgent' request from DP Gachagua's office after elections

Documents seen by Citizen Digital indicate that the Office of the Deputy President, through former State House Comptroller Kinuthia Mbugua, wrote to then-Treasury CS Ukur Yatani on September 7, 2022, requesting for Ksh.1.59 billion to "implement urgent planned activities."

In the letter, Mr. Mbugua stated that the Office of the Deputy President was experiencing increased activities and also needed to facilitate programs of the Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President therefore the approved budget for the Financial Year 2022/23 was not sufficient hence the need for the additional amount.

"The allocated approved budget for the FY 2022/23 under the Deputy President services program is not adequate to cater for the expenditure for the planned activities. The Office of the Deputy President, therefore, requests for additional funding for various expenditure items..." reads part of the letter.

According to the letter, the DP's office intended to spend Ksh.1.59 billion on purchasing motor vehicles (Ksh.300M), other operating expenses (Ksh.550 million), domestic travel (Ksh.140 million), hospitality (Ksh.330 million), maintenance of motor vehicles (Ksh.70 million). 

Other expenses included foreign travel (Ksh.40 million), maintenance of buildings (Ksh.20 million), refurbishment of buildings (Ksh.50 million), purchase of furniture and fittings (Ksh.50 million) and Refined fuels and lubricants (Ksh.40 million).

The Office of the DP asked Yattani to approve the expenditure in line with Article 223 of the constitution which allows the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury to authorize expenditures that have not been appropriated by Parliament, in certain situations.

Former Treasury CS Yatani wrote back to the former State House Comptroller Kinuthia Mbugua in a letter dated September 21, 2022, informing him that it would not be possible to release the Ksh.1.59 billion due to the country's current financial constraints.

Yatani however approved additional funding of Ksh.500 million for the Deputy President's office.

"...The National Treasury has reviewed the request for additional funding of KSh.1.590 billion under Article 223 of the Constitution, to facilitate the Office of the Deputy President implement the planned activities.

"In view of the justification provided, and given the tight fiscal constraint underpinning the FY 2022/23, the National Treasury has considered and approved additional funding of KSh.500million under Article 223 of the Constitution, to facilitate the Executive Office of the President implement the urgent planned activities," reads the documents in part.

The revelations on the additional funding emerged on Wednesday after former CS Treasury CS Yatani came out to dismiss allegations made on Tuesday by the Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o that he coerced her into approving irregular payments amounting to Ksh.15.5 billion in the run-up to the August 9th, 2022 election.

Yatani termed the claims by Nyakang'o as "false and malicious" insisting that the necessary provisions of Article 223 of the Constitution law were followed in approving the Ksh.15.5 billion funding that is now a subject of heated controversy.