Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on Tuesday, March 19 appeared before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations.
Duale appeared before the MP Nelson Koech-led committee to answer to queries raised by Members of Parliament concerning the 2022/23 Annual Performance Report submitted by his Ministry.
But while giving a breakdown of how the Ministry spent its budget, CS Duale declined to answer queries on the expenditure of KSh135 billion by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
Despite contestation from MPs, Duale stood his ground insisting that he would only give the outline of the expenditure but not delve into the intricate details of how the monies were spent, and by which army bases.
Revealing such details in public, Duale insisted, was a risk to the national security. He added that he could only share such information to the National Security Council under the tutelage of the Commander-In-Chief.
“Some of the information on the Defence docket we can only do it at the Defence headquarters in a room that is protected sure that this information will not get out,” Duale said, adding, “the Ministry of Defence budget is audited by the Auditor General and the report interrogated by the Public Account Committee. We are not hiding anything but we will not disclose privileged information.”
Breakdown on KDF spending
In his explanation, Duale broke down the expenditure as follows;
The Ministry’s report had pointed out that KDF spent KSh98 billion in emoluments and salaries, KSh28 billion on operational costs and military bases, and KSh1.7 billion on maintenance of major parts and equipment.
Also, the report said that KDF spent KSh1 billion on civil aid, KSh1 billion on border securitisation and KSh4 billion on modernisation of equipment.
Kajiado Central MP Elijah Memusi, a member of the committee, raised his concerns, arguing that there was nothing confidential about giving out the details.
“The information we want, when you say ‘modernization’, we want to know what is it you bought? Are Kenyans getting value for money? We don’t want these blanket figures.”
Concerns that were shared by Kinangop MP Thuku Kwenya.
“We want to know what an allocation of 1 year has done, where has the Ksh.135 billion been used? If it’s about modernization, tell us this is the equipment we bought and at how much…is there value for money?”
