MP, miraa farmers question use of Sh1.1bn from state

The government has spent more than Sh1.1 billion on the miraa crop since 2016, when President Uhuru Kenyatta directed that a kitty be created to cushion farmers from the effects of losing the European market, a report shows.

The report from Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya is a response to concerns raised in a public petition presented to the National Assembly by Igembe South MP John Paul Mwirigi.

Among the issues raised are that Sh60 million allocated for a miraa research institute in 2019/2020 was diverted; the government has failed to find miraa markets; and Sh1 billion set aside in 2016 has never been "realised" due to vote head allocation.

Mr Mwirigi says the money was allocated under food security and crop diversification until 2019, when a vote line called the miraa revitalisation programme was created.

Mr Munya has been at loggerheads with some former members of a miraa task force report implementation team over accusations that most of the money went to travel and operations instead of benefiting farmers.

Meetings and allowances

Suspending the technical team in August 2020, Mr Munya said: “A lot of money was being spent on meetings and allowances. Let us now direct the resources on benefiting farmers.”

According to the report, the CS said Sh202.7 million was spent on miraa in 2016/2017, Sh74.3 million in 2017/2018 and Sh521.8 million in 2018/2019.

The ministry also spent another Sh309.8 million out of Sh400 million allocated in 2019/2020 while Sh200 million was allocated but unspent in 2020/2021.

“The funds allocated to the ministry since 2016 have been utilised for the intended purposes and therefore there was no misappropriation of any resources allocated to this ministry. The ministry has adhered to proper utilisation of funds in line with the Public Finance Management Act 2012 and other acts of Parliament,” Mr Munya states.

Not spent on miraa

But a detailed expenditure of the money throughout the years indicates that the money was not spent on the miraa crop.

More than Sh562 million went to purchase green grams, cowpeas, sorghum and Irish potato seeds as well as sweet potato and cassava cuttings.

In the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 financial years, a whopping Sh389.7 million was spent on buying the seeds distributed in Meru, Tharaka Nithi and Embu counties. Another Sh110 million went into hunting for new local and international markets for miraa, and on sensitisation and administrative activities.

In 2019/2020, about Sh60 million went to operations and remuneration while Sh180 million was given to miraa farmers’ saccos in Embu and Meru counties.

More than Sh82 million was spent on sinking boreholes and building earth dams and market sheds.

In July last year, the National Assembly Agriculture Committee, led by Laikipia Woman Representative Catherine Waruguru, called for an investigation into the money spent on miraa market sheds, boreholes and saccos.

She was accompanied by Machakos Woman Representative Joyce Kamene, Kabuchai MP Joseph Kalasinga and Mr Mwirigi, the Igembe South MP.

The committee, which was collecting views on Mr Mwirigi’s public petition, raised concern over the use of Sh1 billion for miraa revitalisation and delays by the government to unlock the Somalia diplomatic row that led to the loss of that market.

Recommend investigations

Ms Waruguru said the committee would recommend investigations into the use of the money after residents told the lawmakers that they did not get value for money in the building of the sheds in Igembe South and the drilling of boreholes.

She said it was not prudent to spend Sh7 million on building each miraa market shed.

Nyambene Miraa Traders Association (Nyamita) chairman Kimathi Munjuri had earlier demanded clarification on how the Sh1 billion provided for miraa was allocated and spent.

“The President was clear that miraa should be allocated Sh1 billion every year yet the money was mixed up with other crops. We need our Sh1 billion to benefit the farmers because many of the projects started by the miraa fund have stalled,” Mr Munjuri said.

The miraa lobby has also moved to court to contest the allocation of Sh180 million to two saccos based in Meru and Embu counties.

[email protected]