Taxpayer To Provide Sh3 Billion For ODM and Jubilee

The National assembly will set aside at least Sh3 Billion to be shared between Jubilee and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) parties in this financial year.

According to the Sunday Nation Speaker Justin Muturi, Majority Leader Aden Duale and ODM party Chairperson John Mbadi have held that the parties will in this financial year share out the money that is legally theirs.

The agreement was reached after Mathare MP Anthony Oluoch told the parliament that a court order directing that political parties are allocated money provided for in the Political Parties Act had not been complied with.

[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta, Justin Muturi and Aden Duale "][/caption]

Muturi when issuing the orders to have the money allocated stated that the Act requires that political parties are funded by the exchequer since they are recognized as public entities.

“We do not want parties to be funded by an individual or owned by a community. We want parties that can be funded by the exchequer at the grassroots, county and national level. This is the spirit of the constitution,” stated the Majority Leader.

Duale recalled the days he was an ODM party member in 2007, revealing that they had to run to the rich for them to hold a meeting or have a retreat.

He noted that this has changed and now political parties can go for retreats, pay office rent and their employees because they will be funded by the taxpayer.

Only ODM and Jubilee party qualify to receive funds from the exchequer being the only ones that secured at least five percent of the votes cast in the general elections.

The votes secured by a political party are computed by those cast for the president, Governors, Members of Parliament and MCAs.

ODM are reportedly appealing to have the presidential votes dropped from the tally given they had boycotted the presidential poll that gave Jubilee its second term in office.

If the boycotted poll is included as provided for in the law, Jubilee will take home Sh2 Billion while ODM gets Sh1 Billion.

The two will then find their own way of sharing the resources with parties that supported their candidates.

[caption caption="ODM chairman John Mbadi "][/caption]