PM Odinga meddling in food survey, says House team

A parliamentary committee has accused Prime Minister Raila Odinga of interfering with its investigations into the food situation in Kenya.

The Agriculture committee had summoned the minister for Special Programmes and officials from the ministry for a meeting on Friday, but they failed to turn up citing instructions from the PM.

The Special Programmes permanent secretary, Andrew Mondoh, sent a letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Patrick Gichohi, informing him that the officials could not attend the meeting on advice from the PM, who is preparing to issue a statement in Parliament next week.

“I wish to inform you that the Rt Prime Minister has advised that he will issue a comprehensive statement on the current food situation in the country on Wednesday, February 29, during the Prime Minister’s hour,” the letter copied to Agriculture permanent secretary Mr Francis Kimemia says.

The PS said in the letter that the PM had advised the departmental committee to defer the meeting to another date in order not pre-empt his statement.

The letter, however, infuriated members of the Agriculture committee, who had gathered at Parliament ready for the meeting.

Committee chairman Mr John Mututho accused the PM of interfering with the committee’s investigations. “This letter is confirmation that he is gagging Parliament,” the MP said.

The committee said it would re-table the controversial maize report which implicated the Prime Minister’s office in a Sh2 billion maize scandal, which was reported in 2008 when the government initiated the subsidised maize scheme to mitigate then then appalling hunger situation.

The program was, however, dogged with corruption allegations and inefficiencies. PriceWaterhouseCoopers’s report detailed the role and involvement of various government officials in the scandal largely drawn from the Prime Minister’s office.

The PWC report showed how briefcase traders, who acted as go-betweens with millers, raked millions of shillings.

The PM, however, dismissed the report which was also rejected by Parliament.

MPs argued that the report failed to give sufficient evidence that Mr Odinga and his family had at any one time handled the maize.

They claimed the committee had relied on rumours rather than facts in compiling the report.

According to a committee member, Machakos Town MP Victor Munyaka, the committee found some of the controversial bags of maize still lying in National Cereals and Produce Board stores in parts of Ukambani last weekend.

The team was prompted to pay a visit to the three counties of Makueni, Machakos and Kitui following an alert by area MPs over a looming food crisis due to a total crop failure.

The situation is being blamed on the poor quality of seeds that were supplied to farmers for planting.

The improved seeds are said to have failed completely and there was no harvest despite a spell of rains.

“All early warning systems monitored by the government seem to have collapsed or were deliberately ignored,” Mr Mututho said.