By Anderson Ojwang
IN three months, the late Raila Amolo Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) could be going through what is termed as financial capture.
Unlike Raila, who relied on party members, governors and himself to fund party activities, hardly ninety days after his death the party is swimming in millions of shillings that were hard to come by when he was alive.
‘A philanthropist or a financier has taken the reins of the party and is dictating the terms as ODM embarks on Linda Ground activities.’
Unlike before, when delegates footed their own bills or were sponsored by the area Member of Parliament and governors, currently the delegates are hosted in star hotels and paid allowances ranging from Sh 7,000,000 to Sh 20,000 depending on the cadres.
Party Secretary General Edwin Sifuna revealed that the funds and resources being used in the ongoing Linda Ground engagements did not come from the party.
He said the party is owed over Sh 12 billion by the government in political party funds, which has negated its operations.
“The money and the resources you see being spent on the ODM rallies called Linda Ground do not come from ODM headquarters.
For me, I can only account for the monies because I am a signatory to the bank accounts; Timothy Bosire is also a signatory to the bank accounts. The last money we expended as ODM officially was for the celebration in Mombasa, and it was a fraction of what you saw there,” he said.
Sifuna said there was parallel funding of political activities in the party and they did not know where the funds were coming from.
“For a fact, there is parallel funding for activities clothed in ODM colours, and they go around saying they are ODM delegates.
The Linda Ground activities are not financed from the ODM coffers and headquarters. There is no money that I executed a cheque for those activities.
We did not have any money; the third-quarter remittance from the Exchequer came two weeks ago, about Sh 100 million, and it is a drop in the ocean compared to what exactly ODM is supposed to receive.
ODM is owed a total of Sh 12 billion by the Treasury, yet we are being told that my former chairperson is the Cabinet Secretary for the Treasury,” he said.
Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga supported Sifuna’s concerns over the financing of the ODM Linda Ground activities and wondered about the source of the money flowing into the party.
“. As a signatory to the ODM account, if he questions where all the money for choppers, big tents and ODM-branded T-shirts and caps in the ‘Linda Ground’ conventions is coming from, why should anyone abuse him?
He admitted on national TV that the ODM Party has not spent a single coin on the campaigns, which run into millions of shillings. Those with the answers, why can’t you provide them? Are governors funding the campaigns? Are MPs doing it from the CDF kitty? Did we get a philanthropist that the Party SG is not aware of who is funding the clearly expensive public fora? And what is in it for the ‘philanthropist’?” she questioned.
Ruth wondered why the government was not releasing the Sh 12 billion owed to the party.
“Where is the money used in flying choppers, procuring big tents and mobilising and branding crowds in ODM colours coming from, yet the same money cannot be sent to the ODM Party bank accounts? This only means one thing: control.
According to SG Sifuna, ODM is owed a staggering Sh 12 billion by the government. This is a constitutional requirement based on the strength of the political party.
The government has the option of releasing the funds to the party, but when that happens, they will lack control.
So they must be the ones controlling the show, where they decide who is ‘invited’ to the Linda Ground tents and what they say once they get there. Anything outside the script attracts immediate booing, as was the case with Suba North MP Hon. Millie Odhiambo at the Ciala Resort in Kisumu,” she said.
Last week, speaking in South Rift, the besieged Oketch Salah said he was financially prepared to buy out delegates to support the election of Oburu as the party leader at the NDC.
“It is our request to allow Dr Oburu to begin discussions with President William Ruto on the pre-election coalition pact. Do you agree and accept that Dr Oburu, as the party leader, should begin the talks?
When we go to the National Delegates Conference (NDC), all the delegates who are here, if anyone tries to bribe you, just know we have the money. If they try to bribe you, do not agree. We have the money. Do not be bribed by anyone. If anyone wants to bribe you so that you vote against Dr Oburu, come to me and ask me for money,” he said.
Ruth decried the presence of huge amounts of money in the ODM party, which she said was negating its basic principles and operations.
Ruth wondered where the huge amounts of money currently being used by the party were coming from.
“But we are seeing a situation where a lot of money is flying around, and there appears to be a deliberate approach to commit the ODM Party into a coalition agreement more than a year to the next general elections.
Where is the money coming from? Is it in the Budget and Appropriations Committee at the National Assembly? I know that the government has not given the ODM Party money. So where is all the money coming from?” she asked.
Recently, Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya lamented how the insatiable love for money was destroying the party and going against the grain and principles of the founder leader, the late Raila Amolo Odinga.
