ODM reaffirms its backing for renewed fight against graft

ODM has thrown its weight behind efforts by the government to fight corruption in the country.

“Corruption has become a scourge that requires concerted efforts to eradicate. Although the war on graft is bound to elicit strong opposition from those who have benefitted from it, the ODM party will support any initiative that will help Kenya fight this vice and recover the stolen money and the grabbed property,” said Mr Edwin Sifuna, the party’s secretary-general following a National Executive Council-cum-Parliamentary Group meeting in Mombasa.

The party further urged the government to also consider involving external agencies to help the local institutions bolster efforts in the war against graft.

“In this respect, we fully support lifestyle audit of leaders and procurement personnel in all public institutions. It should not be business as usual for those who engage in economic crimes. Those opposed to lifestyle audit of public officers are enemies of the country,” he added.

ZERO-RATE BASIC COMMODITIES

The party said it is opposed to the imposing of duty on kerosene and failure to zero-rate other basic commodities in the budget delivered last week.

“More worrying is the decision to impose tax on mobile money transfer which was the only privilege Kenyans who owned no bank accounts had to use to send and receive money,” he said.

The opposition party further said it was disappointed by the government’s continued disregard of court orders and refusing to abide by the law.

“The law provides for the allocation of 0.3 percent of the country’s revenue to the Political Parties Fund and this was affirmed by the High Court. However, this has not been honoured in the current printed estimates,” he said.

The party leadership said in line with the discovery of oil in Turkana, the government must take steps to revamp the Kenya Petroleum Refinery Limited (KPRL) plant in Mombasa for the country to reap the full financial benefits from the resource.

ABDUCTION

ODM was also concerned at the spate of disappearances and abduction of young people in the Coast region.

Mr Sifuna said the trend “was a ploy by State agencies to instill fear in the peace loving people of the region.”

“Coast has also become a host to top government leaders scramble over land and mineral resources. We put on notice all the corruption cartels. We shall not sit down and look as greedy people move around with high appetite for natural resources and land meant for the poor,” he added.