Mambo ni Matatu: Aukot pens emotional letter to Ruto
Thirdway Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot has penned down a letter to President William Ruto asking him to be transparent, face prosecution, or resign.
In the letter Aukot has listed the three main issues using Ruto’s famous ‘mambo ni matatu’ phrase, telling the president to address them as he begins his second year in office.
Aukot has threatened to move to court within 30 days if the President does not take steps to ensure that all government costs and revenues are accessed easily online by Kenyans.
The politician has asked the president to take responsibility if his administration does not serve the public good and resign with his cabinet as well.
Telling the President that he should lead transparency from the front because he is a beneficiary of the same through the electoral commission’s public portal, Aukot told Ruto to be open.
”Kenyans are worried that you are in a perennial campaign mode and they are wondering how much public money is being spent on these trips,” Aukot says.
In the spirit of transparency, Auko says there should be full public disclosure of the money being spent on the bipartisan talks.
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”We are also interested to know the total public money being expended on the so-called Bomas bipartisan talks; Kenyans want to follow these transactions daily,” Aukot said.
The politician argues that Kenyans are concerned that the management of public funds continues to remain a secret affair of a few individuals.
”Kenyans are not able to know even how tenders for basic office supplies like stationery are allocated,” Aukot argues in his letter dated September 15, 2023.
”It is with tremendous respect that we deliver this message directly to you as the head of state and government.”
Aukot has told the President that the poor masses, whom he referred to as hustlers during campaigns, remain a social-ticking time bomb that could explode anytime if urgent solutions are not found.
The leader urged Ruto to uphold transparency in matters affecting the public, starting with the dialogue
At the same time, Aukot has petitioned parliament to amend the Public Financial Management Act to compel the government to avail all its public expenditures online.
He wants the National Assembly and the Senate to make it criminal for any attempts by government officials to stall the online government accounting system.
”Amend the Public Financial Management Act to give effect to the spirit of Article 10 of the Constitution and operationalize availing of real-time government ledger and resource management systems that include the procurement process, supplier payment, loans acquisition, and repayment,” Aukot says.
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He also wants the government to disclose online all revenue and grants and enable online monitoring of all government tenders so that they are submitted through an online system.
This system, Akot says should be available live to Kenyans so that they can track the names of directors and beneficial owners of companies involved.
”This being the case, it is Kenyans’ legitimate expectation that the government’s financial affairs, both at National and county levels, must be availed online to enable citizens to access the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS)live on the Internet,” Aukot said.
According to Aukot, citizens are apprehensive that as the sole financiers of government, they are kept in the dark on matters relating to public financial management, accounting, and procurement.
Mambo ni Matatu: Aukot pens emotional letter to Ruto