Uhuru appears before House committee over Passats

By Fatuma Fugicha

Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to appear before Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday over procurement of VW Passats.

Nyatike MP Edick Omondi (ODM), a member of PAC, said Uhuru was expected to shed light on how the Government would benefit from the deal.

"It’s not about buying and selling, we demand to know if the Government will save from the new cars or not," said Mr Omondi.

Speaking in Nairobi, the MP said on Sunday the committee also expected answers on why the Treasury single sourced the vehicles without competitive bidding. "If it’s about cost saving, the Government should have looked for cheaper cars," he said.

Omondi said taxpayers must be told the truth concerning the policy.

Uhuru’s summon follows the alarm raised by Dr Bonny Khalwale (Ikolomani, New Ford-K), Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang’ (Mbita, ODM) and Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi (Sabatia, ODM) who questioned the basis of buying the new cars.

Omondi said if Uhuru failed to appear before the House committee, he would have to write a letter to Parliament to explain his absence.

Khalwale, the PAC chairman, summoned Uhuru to explain the buying of 130 Passats to replace fuel guzzlers.

Khalwale said the law requires the Finance minister to present annual estimates to Parliament for approval, but does not give him powers to buy vehicles on behalf of ministries.

Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta said during this year’s Budget Speech the move to replace Mercedes Benzes with Passats would save taxpayers Sh2 billion annually.

However, motoring experts say the Passats are more expensive to repair and service than Mercedes Benzes.