The World Bank turned down an invitation by the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to discuss allegations of graft in the Kazi kwa Vijana project.
Ikolomani MP Dr Bonny Khalwale, who chairs PAC, said the institution took advantage of an error in an invitation letter they had sent them to skip the meeting.
This comes only a day after Prime Minister Raila Odinga gave a statement in Parliament and tabled documents that proved no money was lost in the youth jobs programme.
Yesterday, Khalwale told journalists at Parliament buildings that the World Bank had declined the invitation citing anomalies in the invitation letter.
"In our invitation letter, we had erroneously indicated that our discussions would be based on 2008/2009 Auditor General report, which the World Bank was not party to," explained the MP.
READ MORE
Nakuru leaders up in arms over the World Bank funding miss
The Nairobi circus and related drama from latest deal with President Ruto
The PAC chairman, who was accompanied by seven out of the 11 members, claimed the bank had taken advantage of the error to turn down the invitation.
"But we are going to write to them another invitation stating clearly what we want them to clarify," Khalwale said. The World Bank started funding the youth programme in March last year, but its phase I of the KKV II project was plunged into controversy over allegations of graft.
An initial audit report by the bank had indicated that Sh308 million may have been lost, but it revised the figure downward to only Sh107 million in a second review.
The PM told Parliament that the Government would repay the World Bank money spent, but which was ineligible. But his explanation split the House into two, with the premier’s critics and his allies clashing over calls for the PM to take political responsibility for alleged graft in the project and resign.
But PAC seems to be interested in the part of an audit report that implicates 47 Government officials, including five senior officers in the office of the PM.
