Oparanya to face House over CDF

• Diversion of Sh2bn to pay census officials has MPs demanding minister’s censure

Planning minister Wycliffe Oparanya faces a censure motion in Parliament after Sh2 billion was diverted from the Constituency Development Fund to pay census officials.

Focus on Thursday shifted to the role the minister may have played in diverting the funds with calls that he steps aside to allow for investigations.

Separately, the House committee in charge of the fund said it would set up a team to investigate the matter.

The committee’s chairman, Turkana Central MP Ekwee Ethuro, said his team would meet this morning to launch investigations into the matter with a view to taking action against the minister.

The minister and his Finance counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta failed to appear before the committee on Tuesday to clarify whether the CDF cash had been diverted.

Some Sh4.6 billion of CDF money was released by the Treasury to the Planning and Vision 2030 ministry on August 24, but Sh2 billion was diverted to pay census bills.

Mr Kenyatta has said the Planning ministry overspent the census budget approved by the Cabinet in the 2007/08 financial year by about Sh2 billion.

On Thursday, MPs told the two ministers to stop “playing politics” with taxpayers’ money.

And, Public Accounts Committee chairman Boni Khalwale said the roles of the two ministries needed to be separated to determine which is in charge of the CDF cash.

Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara demanded that an independent Commission of Inquiry be established to investigate the minister’s role in the alleged scam.

Public confidence

The legislators called for sanctions against Mr Oparanya for delaying CDF projects in their constituencies.

MPs who spoke to the Nation, included Mr Silas Ruteere of Imenti North, Mutito’s Kiema Kilonzo, Githunguri’s Njoroge Baiya and Kamukunji’s Simon Mbugua.

Finance Committee chairman Chris Okemo said the tussle between the two ministers over the CDF was likely to erode public confidence in the government.

Mr Robert Monda of Nyaribari Chache said the delay to release the funds had affected students eligible for bursaries.