By Anderson Ojwang
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has asked the ODM leadership to request President William Ruto to disburse the Sh 12B political fund owed to the party by the government.
Gachagua said it was unfortunate that the leadership was driven by tokenism from the president instead of disbursement of political funds owed to them.
“Instead of going for tokens, kindly ask the President to disburse even half of the amount owed to make the party financially sound. Former party national chairman John Mbadi is the current Cabinet Secretary for Finance. Why can’t he arrange to release funds to ODM?
We need a stronger party with a sound financial standing. This is what the party leadership should prioritize,” Gachagua said.
But in a quick response, ODM National Chairperson Gladys Wanga told Gachagua to give them a break and they do not want his advice.
“Gachagua should give us a break. He should concentrate on his village party DCP. He has built his politics on hate and division,” she said.
In a recent interview, the embattled Party secretary general Edwin Sifuna revealed that the funds and resources being used in the ongoing Linda Ground engagement did not come from the party.
He said the party was owed over Sh 12 billion by the government for the political party funds which has negated its operations.
“The money and the resources you see being spent on the ODM rallies called Linda Ground. The monies 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 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 do not know where the funds were coming from.
“For a fact there is parallel funding for activities clothed in ODM colors and they go around saying they are ODM delegates.
The Linda Ground are not financed from the ODM coffers and headquarters. There is no money that I executed a cheque for those activities.
We didn’t have any money; the third quarter remittance from the exchequer came two weeks ago, about Sh 100m, 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 Treasury,” he said.
Kisumu Women Representative Ruth Odinga supported Sifuna’s concerns over the financing of the ODM Linda Ground activities and wondered about the source of money flowing into the party.
“As a signatory to the ODM account, if Sifuna questioned where all the money for choppers, big tents and ODM branded t-shirts and caps in the ‘Linda Ground’ conventions were coming from? He admitted on national TV that ODM Party has not spent any 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 a 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 Odinga raised the alarm over the free flowing money in the ODM party which was undermining its unity and activities.
She wondered why the government was not releasing the Sh 12 billion owed to the party.
“Where is the money used in flying in choppers, being used to procure big tents and to mobilize and brand crowds in ODM colors, yet the same money cannot be sent to the ODM Party bank accounts only means one thing: control,” she said.
The Political Parties Fund is a constitutional requirement based on the strength of the political party.
“Where is the money coming from? Is it in the Budget and Appropriations Committee at the National Assembly, and I know that the government has not given ODM party money. So where is all the money coming from?” she asked.
