The Judiciary has said it requires more than Sh18.7 billion to fund its operations in the 2014-15 financial year. The estimates that are under scrutiny by the National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs committee include Sh15.7 billion direct funding from the government in recurrent and development expenditures and Sh3 billion from international donors.
The donors include World Bank Sh2.8 billion, with UNDP and Ford Foundation's Sh80 million each. In the current year, the Judiciary was allocated Sh16.1 billion including donor funding. However, there have been doubts on the absorption capacity on the development vote.
While presenting the proposals to the House Legal Affairs committee yesterday, Chief Registrar of Judiciary Anne Amadi said the approval of the budget by the National Assembly will facilitate the hiring of more than 25 judges.
She told the committee chaired by Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkonga that the allocation was also crucial in the construction of high courts in all the counties.
“The Judiciary’s core programme is to deliver quality justice to all. In this regard the programme strategic objective is to provide equitable access to and expeditious delivery of justice,” Amadi told the committee.
However, the committee prematurely adjourned the session to today to allow the registrar to provide more information to enable the committee scrutinize the estimates properly.
This came after Ruaraka MP Tom Kajwang’ complained that the judiciary was furnishing the committee with programmatic budget as opposed to itemized budget.
“What you are providing before this committee is an elitist budget that we may not understand including the members of the public. The information may also not help us because we have no sufficient information to interrogate the estimates,” said Kajwang’
The committee chairman who had demanded the actuals regarding how the Sh16.1 billion allocated in the current financial year was spent and the reasons for low absorption said the figures were crucial.
“This committee is interested in figures not words. The figures must summarize the words that you are telling the committee because that is the basis,” Chepkonga said.
He also sought to know how much has been spent on the controversial Elgon court. The building was meant for the Court of Appeal judges but they have declined to occupy it despite Chief Justice’s directive. Their decline is based on the radiation fears emanating from the communication masts near the building.
Early this year Amadi said that the Judiciary will not pay the owner $500, 000 (Sh42 million) annually in rents for a period of six years according to a lease agreement entered last year.
Among other details the committee is seeking before presenting its report include the highly inflated Sh310 million purchase of the Chief Justice official residence that he has never occupied since its purchase last year.
The others are the purchase of Rahimtullah building where many offices are unoccupied and the alleged single sourcing of the Mayfair offices to be used by the Judicial Service Commission members.
Notwithstanding the previous supremacy wars between Parliament and Judiciary, the registrar promised to deliver the details as oversight requirements. She said the shady dealings had raised numerous audit queries.