Azimio and UDA MPs Unite Against Ruto’s CS

Members of Parliament affiliated with Kenya Kwanza joined hands with opposition MPs to push for the impeachment of Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u.

Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo, leading the charge, accused President William Ruto’s administration of employing technicalities to impede the release of the National Government-Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).

Amollo, representing his colleagues, disclosed a memo dated January 2024, instructing all County Development Fund account managers nationwide to halt fund disbursement due to amendments in the County Development Fund Act.

The MPs argued that the Treasury’s reluctance to release the funds was unnecessary, emphasizing that the amendments affected less than 6 percent of National Government-County Development Funds. MP Otiende Amollo asserted that the Treasury should have promptly disbursed the remaining 94 percent.

Acknowledging legislative amendments in November and December, Amollo criticized the memo as misguided.

He questioned the government’s rationale in using amendments from the end of 2023 to shape policies for the 2023/2024 financial year, contending that these amendments should have been considered for the 2024/2025 Financial Year, set to begin in July 2024.

Demonstrating bipartisan unity, the MPs issued a stern ultimatum to President William Ruto, demanding the release of the entire Fund allocation within seven days.

This marked the third instance in the 2023/2024 Financial Year that the legislators threatened to impeach the Treasury CS, highlighting escalating tension.

In a related development, on January 3, the National Government disbursed Ksh31 billion for bursary allocation under the National Government-County Development Fund kitty.

However, the MPs deemed this amount unacceptable, insisting on receiving the entire allocation, which they argued should be at least 2.5 percent of the government’s total revenue.

As the political standoff intensifies, the fate of Treasury CS Njuguna Ndung’u hangs in the balance, and the nation closely watches for the government’s response to the ultimatum issued by the united front of MPs.