Senators caution State against paying Anglo Leasing Sh125b

By MOSES NJAGIH

The Senate Committee on Finance has cautioned the National Assembly against giving in to the request by the Government to pay the contentious Sh125 billion for Anglo Leasing contracts.

The committee further faulted the figure that Attorney General Githu Muigai presented to the National Assembly as cost of the contracts, terming it as suspect.

Committee chairman Billow Kerrow (Mandera) and Senator Boni Khalwale (Kakamega), who are coincidentally former chairmen of the watchdog Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that investigated the Anglo Leasing contracts, demanded to know how the amount rose from Sh54 billion to the Sh125 billion that the Government now wants cleared.

It was during the tenure of the two as chairmen of the watchdog committee that Anglo Leasing contracts were probed by Parliament, leading to the decision of the House in 2006 that the Government should not pay for the contracts.

The two senators wondered why President Uhuru Kenyatta, who, as the chairman of PAC in the tenth Parliament had objected to the payments, had changed his mind and agreed that the same now be paid.

The Finance committee said it would summon the AG and the Treasury officials to find out how the figure rose to Sh125 billion and further why the contracts have never been cancelled as was recommended by Parliament and a consent given by the Executive.

“Luckily, it is in the upper House where one can get the institutional memory of these contracts. Many of the senators were in the House when these matters came up. That is why we are cautioning our brothers against agreeing to the request before relevant questions have been answered,” said Khalwale.

The committee members rubbished the reasoning given by the AG that the decision to pay would allow Kenya to borrow loans at cheaper interest rates and avoid sanctions.