Word in the corridors of power is that Statehouse chief of Staff has spent better part of today afternoon calling president Uhuru who is a way in France to update him on the Eurobond.
The panic was triggered by Raila Odinga nad his other CORD Principals who have written to international banks thant handled money. Staterhouse is in panic for they know the international organisations especially the British and American banks will disclose all information once investigations commence.
Here is the statement by Odinga that got Statehouse twerking in the cold.
STATEMENT BY CORD COALITION LEADERS AT SERENA HOTEL.
SEEKING ANSWERS ON MISSING EURO BOND BILLIONS:
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Last week, we invited you here and asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to go beyond easy talk and embark on specific actions to stem the tide of corruption that is eating our nation from within. We haven’t seen any such steps. We are not convinced that bringing new names into the Cabinet and laundering older ones will do.
Today, therefore, we called you here to inform you of the steps we have commenced to seek the government’s explanation into what coming out as the most outrageous saga of the loss of public funds in Kenyan history and which the President is determined to sweep under the carpet. A year ago, the Jubilee Government paid public funds to an Anglo Leasing company.
The President himself gave the excuse that this would ensure the success of the government’s efforts to raise two billion US dollars from the international market. This money, the president said, would relieve pressure on the government to borrow from the local market that would crowd out the private sector and raise interest rates.
We were told it also would unlock resources that would allow the government to complete its ambitious infrastructure construction programme.
To facilitate this move, the government amended the Public Finance Act to allow for the opening of an offshore account, in breach of Article 6 of the Constitution.
And so, the Eurobond Jamboree hit the road. Between June and November 2014, the government borrowed a total of 2.75 billion dollars; approximately 250 billion Kenya Shillings.
This money could finance the equivalent of eight new Thika ‘superhighways; in other words, Thika Superhighway all the way to Mombasa. We have taken time and meticulously studied government documentation from the Treasury, the Central Bank and other oversight institutions.
We have reviewed the Government Budget Out turn for the FY 2013/14 and FY 2014/15 published by the National Treasury in two documents namely the Quarterly Economic and Budgetary Review for the Fourth Quarter of the FY 2014/15 dated August 2015. We have also studied the Budget Review and Outlook Paper dated September 2015.
From the reviews, it is clear to us that the greatest case of theft in Kenyan history is either underway or has already been concluded in one fell swoop in the name of Euro Bond.
The government’s books regarding the Eurobond do not balance. Indeed, it is now clear that official accounts have been cooked and continue to be cooked. Some of them are up on the Treasury’s website. The statements of government Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and other officials contradict each other.
At the very least, the government cannot account for over 140 billion Shillings – that is one billion US dollars.
You can’t misplace a Billion Dollars however rich or reckless you are. Even a Billion Shillings is hard to misplace. Even if it had been misspent in Kenya we would have felt it. Instead the economy today is contracting. Indeed, the government that had promised not to borrow from the local market last year borrowed a further over 200 billion Shillings from the local market driving up interest rates and crowding out the private sector. Now there is talk of borrowing still more from the international market.
Given the lack of evidence of where and if the government has spent over a billion dollars, the contradictory statements of officials, and the very obviously cooked accounts emerging from different official departments, we are forced to the alarming and unprecedented conclusion that once again Kenyans are victims of a single case of theft that is without precedent in our history.
As citizens we have a right to a full and proper accounting of all loans borrowed in our names. Our children will be paying for this commercial debt and the thought that parts of it may have been stolen is too outrageous to contemplate.
Today, therefore, in pursuit of the constitutional Right of Access to Information Held by the State and discharge by the State of Obligation to Publish and Publicize any Information Affecting the Nation, on behalf of the Opposition coalition and the people of Kenya, we have dispatched demand letters to all local and foreign institutions that were involved in the Euro Bond saga to demand very specific answers.
The answers we are seeking on each of these institutions are clearly spelt out in the letter to each of them but we will mention them in brief here.
We have written to:
1. Mr. Henry K. Rotich, the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury;
2. Dr. Kamau Thugge, EBS, Principal Secretary, National Treasury.
3. Barclays Bank PLC; London, United Kingdom.
4. J.P. Morgan Securities, London, United Kingdom.
5. QNB Capital LLC, Doha, Qatar.
6. Standard Bank PLC, London, United Kingdom.
The National Treasury Commissioned the Euro Bond on behalf of the Republic of Kenya, with Barclays Bank PLC, J.P Morgan Securities PLC, both of London, United Kingdom, QNB Capital LLC of Doha, Qatar and Standard Bank PLC, also of London, United Kingdom, as the joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners of The National Treasury.
We wish to know; into which bank did every respective Manager of the Eurobond credit the proceeds? What are the account numbers into which these credits were made? Who were the signatories of each offshore account operated by The National Treasury and into which proceeds of the Eurobond were credited? Under whose authority were these accounts opened?
How many transactions were carried out through each of the offshore accounts from the date of opening of the account to the date of answering this inquiry? What were the dates, details of beneficiaries and amounts of the transactions? What are the details of the expenditure of the proceeds of the Eurobond that were credited to the Consolidated Fund? How much of these proceeds were used for general budgetary purposes and how much was used for infrastructural projects?
We are asking for details of the appropriation of such sums in the Financial Year 2014/2015. We expect each of the institutions to furnish us with the information within 14 days.
Thank you
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