Treasury wants parliament to probe Uhuru’s KSh4bn paid to ‘ghost’ maize millers
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Treasury asks parliament to probe KSh4bn paid to 'ghost' maize millers by Uhuru administration
Treasury asks parliament to probe KSh4bn paid to ‘ghost’ maize millers by Uhuru administration.
In a move that is likely to postpone payment to the processors, the National Treasury has asked parliament for assistance with investigations into the Sh4 billion paid to millers from last year’s maize subsidy scheme.
The Sh4 billion is alleged to have been paid to millers, but Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u claimed that they are unable to identify the precise companies that received the funds.
This is despite the government allegedly owing processors another Sh4 billion.
“Parliament should assist us to investigate the Sh4 billion subsidy money because we do not have the capacity to do it ourselves as it might take a political angle,” Prof Ndung’u told the Budget Appropriation Committee of the House on Monday.
The subsidy scheme took a political turn when concerns were expressed that the initiative might not have reached the intended beneficiaries, which is why investigations are necessary.
The Sh8 billion subsidy that former President Uhuru Kenyatta instituted to reduce the exorbitant price of flour, which had reached Sh250 for a two-kilogram packet, is the cause of the money owing to millers.
The plan made the staple affordable at Sh100.
The subsidy scheme began just before the election and was primarily seen as a campaign ploy to win over voters.
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The exercise, which restricted millers to sell flour at Sh100 for a two-kilogram packet, was marred with a shortage of the commodity on shelves, forcing supermarkets to limit purchases to two packets.
This comes at a time when millers have since August last year been demanding Sh4 billion from the Ministry of Agriculture as a balance of what the government owes them from the flour that they fed to the market during the subsidy era.
Agriculture Principal Secretary Harsama Kellow said the matter lies with the Treasury and not the Ministry of Agriculture at the moment.
“This issue is currently being handled by the Treasury and they are best placed to respond to queries from millers,” said Mr. Kellow.
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