Court extends orders stopping Governor Evans Kidero from getting Sh4bn county loan
High Court judge Lady Justice Mumbi Ngugi who ruled that those wishing to study in various education institutions must be willing to comply with the rules set by such institutions. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Lady Justice Mumbi Ngugi issued the directive Tuesday and said that the matter had been pushed to January 28, 2015.
- Nine members of the Nairobi County Assembly had moved to court on November 7, 2014 seeking to stop Dr Kidero from acquiring a Sh4 billion loan.
- Through lawyer Kibe Mungai, they alleged that the Nairobi County Executive Committee member did not submit to the county assembly the details of the loan facilities.
- The dispute started when the county government requested the approval of the county assembly for loan facilities to cater for a budgetary deficit but failed to provide evidence of the deficit.
The High Court has extended an order barring Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero from getting a Sh4 billion loan.
Lady Justice Mumbi Ngugi issued the directive Tuesday and said that the matter had been pushed to January 28, 2015, when the case against Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich, Attorney-General Githu Muigai, the Speaker of the Nairobi County Assembly and the Finance and Economic Planning executive member will be heard.
Nine members of the Nairobi County Assembly had moved to court on November 7, 2014 seeking to stop Dr Kidero from acquiring a Sh4 billion loan on the grounds that the money was to be procured in an unprocedural manner.
MCAs Isaac Ngigi, Hashim Kamau, Osam Adow, Ruth Njeri Macharia, Janet Kimondo, Karen Wanjiku, Chege Mwaura, Patrick Chege and Abdi Hassan claimed that if Dr Kidero is allowed to go ahead and get loans from banks, it would be a mockery of good governance, accountability and the principles of devolution.
NO LOAN DETAILS
Through lawyer Kibe Mungai, they alleged that the Nairobi County Executive Committee member did not submit to the county assembly the details of the loan facilities, which include the banks offering them, the terms and the interest charged, for them to confirm whether the terms are the best in the market.
They accused Dr Kidero of failing to comply with the Public Finance Management Act 2012 in seeking to borrow money from banks.
They further claimed that Dr Kidero is not being transparent and accountable in his bid to secure the loan facilities as he had not justified the need to procure them.
“There is a high risk that the public funds may be stolen through creative loan procurement schemes,” said Mr Mungai.
The dispute started when the county government, through its Executive Committee Member for Finance and Economic Planning, requested the approval of the county assembly for loan facilities to cater for a budgetary deficit but failed to provide evidence of the deficit.
The law allows the county government to submit to the Executive Committee Member for Finance and Economic Planning (CECM) in writing the terms and conditions for a loan.
In this case, the governor did not provide the details that the MCAs wanted and now the MCAs claim that neither the city residents nor they know the cost of the Sh4 billion loan or even the bank that is going to provide that money.
