‘No misuse of taxpayers money’-Muturi tells MP’s

If MPs had their way, today they would be making their way to the venue of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, all at taxpayers’ expense.

Ten legislators — five from the Senate and another five from the National Assembly — had indicated that they wanted Parliament to fund their trip to watch the Kenyan team performing.

The request came just months after another group of MPs made the infamous trip to Russia to watch the FIFA World Cup.

The dust from the controversy generated by that trip is yet to settle after the MPs were accused of plagiarising a report from Internet sources to justify their spendthrift ways with public money.

The volleyball championship kicks off today but the group of about 10 legislators will not travel after National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi blocked their plan.

The legislators include Senators Irungu Kang’ata (Murang’a), Andrew Lang’at (Bomet), Christine Zawadi (nominated), Beatrice Kwamboka (nominated) and Victor Prengei (nominated), and MPs Dan Wanyama (Webuye West) and Beatrice Kones (Bomet East), among others.

They had requested Mr Muturi to allow them to travel to Japan for 14 days to watch the national team, Malkia Strikers, in a trip that was to be fully paid for by the taxpayer.

This would have included the cost of their air tickets, meals and accommodation, match tickets and per diems, among other perks, at a time when wananchi are feeling the pinch of increased taxation to repay Kenya’s growing debt.

However, having been guided and taken ‘judicial notice’ of the public fury, outcry and condemnation that greeted the July trip to Russia, Mr Muturi, who is also the chairman of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) that is in-charge of MPs’ welfare, did not waste time cancelling the whole thing.

The public expressed their displeasure over what value those who went to Russia would add to the development of sports in the country even after it emerged that they had gobbled at least Sh35 million of taxpayer’s money.

Sources within Parliament told the Saturday Nation that the Speaker was furious when the request came to him, especially at the time the country is struggling economically.

“It was so scandalous to send the MPs to Russia. How can it be that these ones want to travel to Japan at the time the buzzword on the lips of Kenyans is austerity measures to check against wastage of the limited public resources,” an MP who did not wish to be named said.

The country is faced with the challenge of raising revenue to meet its key obligations for the current financial year with a bludgeoning public debt (about Sh5.2 trillion) further complicating matters.

About two weeks ago, the MPs approved a supplementary budget that saw the government slash its Sh3.026 trillion budget for this year by Sh37.6 billion.

The cuts have seen a drastic reduction in the country’s development expenditure as well as education the sector.

The MPs who travelled to Russia include Mr Munyaka, Messrs Bernard Shinali (Ikolomani), Chris Omulele (Luanda), Dan Wanyama (Webuye West), Jones Mlolwa (Voi) and a retinue of parliamentary staff.

The Senators were Mr James Orengo (Siaya), Mr Cleophas Malala (Kakamega) and Ms Millicent Omanga (nominated).

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