Azimio affiliate parties hit out at Ruto’s administration over delayed funds

Azimio affiliate parties, ODM and Jubilee hit out at the National Treasury over delayed funds meant for political parties
Azimio affiliate parties, ODM and Jubilee hit out at the National Treasury over delayed funds meant for political parties.
Political parties affiliated to Azimio leader Raila Odinga and former President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday, January 13, demanded the release of money meant for their outfits.
Azimio affiliate parties challenged President William Ruto to make sure that the funding for political parties is duly disbursed.
The parties included the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Jubilee, Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K), the United Democratic Forum Party (UDP), Narc-Kenya, Party of Growth and Prosperity (PGP), the United Party of Independent Alliance (Upia) and the Labour Party of Kenya (LPK).
“Political parties have not received the first, second, and third quarter funding even after the political parties dispute tribunal directed on December 6 2022 the Registrar of Political Parties to release the first quarter funding covering the period July to September 2022,” Kioni claimed.
Azimio’s requests were made in response to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), the president’s party, having its appeal against the allocation formula rejected by the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal (PPDT).
“During his recent interview, he alluded to the fact that money due to political parties had already been released.
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“We as secretaries-general of the qualifying parties have had a meeting with the Registrar of Political Parties and she confirmed that in fact, Treasury has still not disbursed the money,” ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna noted.
Political parties under the Raila Odinga-led Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition took offense with a past statement, in which President Ruto claimed that the money had been released.
“So, when the President says that he expects a very robust opposition, he is lying to Kenyans because his actions are directed towards ensuring that they cripple political parties, especially the opposition political parties,” he added.
The parties asked Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndungu to abide by the Political Parties Act, which stipulates that 0.3 percent of the money collected by the Treasury in a financial year should go towards party funding.
Azimio parties alleged that Treasury only fronted Ksh1.47 billion instead of Ksh6.09 billion as required by law.
“The delay and underfunding to political parties has greatly affected party institutionalization and lowered the desired value-infusion, which in turn would ensure that the people of Kenya see political parties as necessary organizations in the democratization process,” they said in their joint statement.
According to Sifuna, the last time political parties received funds was in June 2022, noting that the delay is stifling democracy.
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