Taxpayer to foot Sh7.2b used to procure BVR kits over 10 years

By Vitalis Kimutai

Kenya: Kenyans will for the next 10 years pay Sh7.2 billion used to procure the Biometric Voter Registers (BVRs) by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The 15,000 kits used to register voters ahead of the March 4, General Election was supplied by the Canadian government under an agreement between the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) and IEBC.

Mr Joseph Kinyua, the outgoing Permanent Secretary at Treasury on Thursday told the Public Accounts Committee chaired by Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba at Parliament buildings that Kenyans got value for their money in the deal between the Canadian and Kenya governments.

“We have a one year grace period but the tax payers will re-pay the loan for the next ten years as per the agreement, which was the best in the prevailing circumstances when you look at our external and internal debt at the time,” Kinyua said.

Kinyua said the money would be re-paid in 19 equal installments commencing on October, 30 this year.

He denied earlier media reports indicating that the sum total for the BVR kits was Sh9 billion noting that people who had not seen the contract agreement had exaggerated the figures.

“The commercial contract signed on September 24, last year between IEBC and CCC stipulated that 40 per cent of the cost was to be paid as down payment by the Kenya Government, 45 per cent on delivery of the kits, five per cent upon acceptance of the Central System and 10 per cent upon generation of the certified register of voters,” Kinyua told the Committee.

“The whole journey seems to have started at Treasury and we want to understand who initiated the process, what was it about, details of the requisition and procurement. It is about Canadian and Kenyan governments.” Ababu told Kinyua.

Members of the Committee including Cecily Mbarire, Omondi Anyanga and James Bett said Kenyans wanted to understand how much was used to procure the BVRs as there had been claims swirling around that a lot of tax payers’ money was lost in the process.