MPs question Sh337m splashed on national dress, Kiswahili Day fete

MPs have taken the government to task over the questionable expenditure of Sh337 million under the State Department of Culture, The Arts and Heritage, saying it may have been designed to loot from the public.

Culture, Arts and Heritage Principal Secretary Ummi Bashir had a rough time convincing members of Sports and Culture Committee of the National Assembly, for instance, how it was necessary to spend Sh200 million to set up Kenya House, an exhibition in Paris, France, to market Kenya during the recently concluded Paris 2024 Olympics games.

Committee members were upset after learning that Sh70 million had been allocated for the development of the Kenyan dress, Sh55 million spent on the Kiswahili Day celebrations and Sh12 million spent on the inaugural minorities’ rights celebrations. The questionable expenditures were sourced from the Tourism Promotion Fund (TPF).

Although Committee chairman Dan Wanyama (Webuye West) did not have a problem with the setting up of an exhibition house in France, members did not find it “prudent use of the limited public resources”.

“The idea of setting up Kenya House in Paris during the Olympics was brilliant. I was privileged to visit it and I can confirm that there was a huge stream of people visiting to know much about our country,” Mr Wanyama said.

“As a result, Kenya is expected to reap big in terms of tourism as the number of tourists who will visit will rise,” he added, with Yatta MP Robert Basil not convinced.

Sh200 million

“I don’t understand how Kenya benefitted from the marketing plan worth Sh200 million. Whoever authorised such expenditure should be investigated and face the law,” said Mr Basil, noting, “The Olympics has always been a source for stealing public funds and the matter should not be allowed to die a natural death.”

Mr Wanyama said, “This time round, greedy government officials failed to steal the money through sponsoring of unwanted delegations but decided to use the Kenya House as an avenue to embezzle public funds.”

The expenditure on the Kenya House exhibition was undertaken by the National Museums of Kenya on the directive of the State Department. Assertions by Ms Bashir that the funds were utilised well did not convince the agitated committee members.

 “The manner in which the fund operates and the level of compliance required to access the funds make it impossible for any gaps to exist in the utilisation and reporting of the fund,” said Ms Bashir, who was immediately shut down.

To demonstrate their displeasure with the PS’ supposed justification of the “questionable” expenditures, the committee members were specifically united in questioning the Sh70 million planned expenditure on the national dress and the Sh55 million fully utilised to host Kiswahili Day celebrations. They also took issue with the Sh12 million spent on the minorities’ celebrations day.

“On the Kenya dress search, Kiswahili and minority day celebrations, the money was wasted and the PS’ submissions are not convincing at all,” Mr Wanyama said. “The committee is not convinced money was utilised prudently. There was no need to spend so much money on Kiswahili Day and Minority Day celebrations.”

Sh50 million

The government has previously spent in excess of Sh50 million on the national dress that fizzled out without any impact after it was launched.

Mr Wanyama revealed that the committee may consider seeking the help of the House to direct Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu to undertake a special audit of the “questionable” expenditures.

Of the millions that financed Kiswahili Day celebrations, Sh24.9 million went into financing the venues, including exhibitions and set up, Sh10.51 was splurged on allowances for government officials, Sh4.24 million financed transport, Sh1.8 million was spent on cultural food and dinner, and Sh12.1 million on marketing and promotional items.

The documents PS Bashir presented to Parliament show that the State Department is waiting for the gazettement of the national taskforce to undertake consultations in all the counties to ensure the dress is representative and that it gets all the necessary buy-in. “The department is still awaiting disbursement of Sh30 million from the TPF, hence implementation has not started,” said PS Bashir, noting that the concept note had been developed and the Head of Public Service notified.

Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, a member of the committee and who comes from the minority Suba community, wondered why the minority day celebrations “were silent” noting that members of his community were not aware of the event.

“Why the Minority Day celebrations were held in Nairobi and not in areas where the minority communities come from, like Suba constituency, is a matter that needs interrogation,” said Mr Omondi.