Sonko defends Ksh.96M confidential budget allocation

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko is on the spot over a confidential Ksh.96 million budgetary allocation, which came to light during an oversight committee meeting by the Nairobi County Assembly.

Details seen by Citizen TV show that from the period of July 2018, Sonko’s secret account received Ksh.4 million, with a revised amount of Ksh.46 million being topped up through a supplementary budget.

The Nairobi County Assembly again approved estimates amounting to Ksh.50 million leaving the account full with Ksh.96 million.

In his defense, however, Governor Sonko on Monday claimed the money is meant for operation expenses, this despite the existence of a hospitality budget specifically for the county governor’s office.

“The name confidential is being misused in this case. It is supposed to be ‘operation.’ The governor’s office is big… legal is under me, security, there is a lot of terrorism threats in Nairobi we need to get information… When ambassadors come to my office, I need to be buying tea for them. I cannot be using money from my pocket throughout,” said Sonko.

In the Controller of Budget report, the office of the governor and deputy governor of Nairobi, have been allocated Ksh.4.4 billion in the current financial year. The questionable confidential expenditure is not included while the office of the deputy governor still remains vacant.

A status report on recurrent expenditure from the account, however, shows that the Ksh.96 million is still intact in the account.

“The money is still intact in the Treasury… There is no point of a governor who is fighting graft to look as if he has become a sympathizer of corruption,” he added.

The matter will be deliberated in the county assembly chambers on Tuesday.