No money was lost in ‘Eurobond saga’- CS Rotich

The National Treasury has maintained that no money from Eurobond was lost as has been widely alleged by the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD).

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich has further challenged CORD leader Raila Odinga to table any evidence to back his claims of misappropriation of the Eurobond funds.

Rotich was speaking Friday morning when he responded to queries raised by CORD alleging that up to Ksh 140 billion could have been misused.

According to Rotich, the government borrowed money from the international market to fill funding gaps in the budget, clear a syndicated loan that was taken under President Mwai Kibaki’s regime, as well as support infrastructure projects.

The Treasury CS said the breakdown on specific expenditure from Eurobond monies are being prepared by various Ministries.

Rotich’s statement comes days after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko directed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to investigate the allegations concerning the Eurobond and report back to him in ten days.

In a letter dated December 1st 2015, Tobiko had directed EACC CEO Halakhe Waqo and DCI Director Ndegwa Muhoro to interrogate, record statements and obtain evidence from all parties concerned and forward a complete file to the DPP’s office for perusal and appropriate directions.

Tobiko’s directive came hours after the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) issued a 14-day ultimatum to the government and all companies that were involved in Eurobond transactions to release an official statement and clear account information explaining to the public how the alleged scam took place.

“Kenyans are victims of a single case of theft that is without precedent in our history. As citizens we have a right to a full and proper accounting of all loans borrowed in our names. Our children will be paying for this commercial debt and the thought that parts of it may have been stolen is too outrageous to contemplate,” read the statement.

In the statement read by CORD leader Raila Odinga, the opposition alleged that the appointment of new cabinet secretaries is a cover-up meant to divert the attention of Kenyans.

“Last week, we invited you here and asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to go beyond easy talk and embark on specific actions to stem the tide of corruption that is eating our nation from within. We haven’t seen any such steps. We are not convinced that bringing new names into the Cabinet and laundering older ones will do,” stated Odinga.

According to the former prime minister, CORD has reviewed the Government Budget Out turn for the FY 2013/14 and FY 2014/15 published by the National Treasury in two documents namely the Quarterly Economic and Budgetary Review for the Fourth Quarter of the FY 2014/15 dated August 2015.

CORD has also studied the Budget Review and Outlook Paper dated September 2015.

“From the reviews, it is clear to us that the greatest case of theft in Kenyan history is either underway or has already been concluded in the name of Eurobond,” claimed Odinga.

CORD has written to Mr Henry Rotich, the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury; Dr Kamau Thugge, Principal Secretary for National Treasury, Barclays Bank PLC; London, United Kingdom, J.P. Morgan Securities, London, United Kingdom, QNB Capital LLC, Doha, Qatar and Standard Bank PLC, London, United Kingdom.

“We wish to know into which bank did every respective Manager of the Eurobond credit the proceeds? What are the account numbers into which these credits were made? Who were the signatories of each offshore account operated by The National Treasury and into which proceeds of the Eurobond were credited? Under whose authority were these accounts opened?,”

“We also wish to know how many transactions were carried out through each of the offshore accounts from the date of opening of the account to the date of answering this inquiry? What were the dates, details of beneficiaries and amounts of the transactions? What are the details of the expenditure of the proceeds of the Eurobond that were credited to the Consolidated Fund? How much of these proceeds were used for general budgetary purposes and how much was used for infrastructural projects?”

CORD is asking for details of the appropriation of such sums in the Financial Year 2014/2015.