NASA affiliate parties Wiper, ANC, and Ford-Kenya have waged a war against ODM after the Raila Odinga-led party maintained that it does not owe them a cent in Ksh4.1 billion pay from the Exchequer.
The three parties led by co-principals Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula will meet on Monday to agree on how the billions recently awarded to ODM should be shared after the four parties failed to agree on the sharing formula in a meeting chaired by the Registrar of Political Parties on Thursday.
According to Wiper Secretary-General Judy Sijeny, it is only fair that ODM shares the Ksh4.1 billion with the other partners in the coalition as they contributed to it by virtue of supporting Odinga’s presidential candidate in 2017.
“We should sit and agree on how the money should be divided. We have initiated the talks and are waiting to see if they will comply this time. The money is only applicable to Cord which comprised ODM, Wiper and Ford Kenya,” Sijeny pleaded.
Sijeny further complained that Raila’s party had not been sharing with them equally the monies accrued to them after the 2017 elections. She told Sunday Nation that they had written to Orange House to fast-track the process.
Her Ford Kenya counterpart and Tongaren MP Eseli Simiyu was hopeful that an amicable solution could be found without much fight.
“We have engaged ODM and the registrar of parties on this,” Tongaren.
Simiyu also blamed ‘selfish individuals’ while pinpointing that they amended the law to institute a higher threshold for parties to qualify for the fund.
The newly appointed registrar of political parties Anne Nderitu advised parties in coalitions to always ensure they have tighter agreements for easy arbitration in cases of fall out.
“What is important is what the coalition agreement says. Parties should abide by what the document says,” Nderitu emphasised.
ANC spokesman Barack Muluka says that while they do not stake a claim on the Ksh4 billion windfall, the Orange party, in the spirit of comradeship, should be magnanimous enough to share it with them.
“What we can talk about is the disbursements made after NASA came into being and which ODM has violated the sharing formula in the coalition agreement. We will pursue this at an appropriate time,” Muluka declared.
ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, however, indicated that they had explained to their partners that since they do not receive any money on the account of the presidential election, they owed them none. Sifuna argued that in the Cord days (2013-2017), Wiper and Ford Kenya got their fair share of the fund.
“When we get the Ksh4.1 billion, and after subtracting all the legal expenses, we will pay what is due to them since the period partly covers Cord days. They should therefore not worry,” Sifuna argued.
The newly appointed registrar of political parties Anne Nderitu, who has been leading efforts to have the parties strike a deal over the matter, advised parties in coalitions to always ensure they have tighter agreements for easy arbitration in cases of fall out.
“What is important is what the coalition agreement says. Parties should abide by what the document says,” Nderitu maintained.
