• The chairman disclosed that the commission was unable to audit the controversial technology it used in 2017 and plans to reuse in 2022.
• In the current financial year, the commission received Sh4.66 billion from the National Treasury. Part of the amount, Sh1.11 billion was spent on pending bills.
Image: COURTESY
The electoral agency has raised the alarm over a cash crunch which has derailed key activities and threatens to cripple its preparations for the 2022 General Election.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has disclosed that its priority work has continued to stall after Parliament and the National Treasury starved it of funds.
Chairman Wafula Chebukati told Parliament that the commission’s vital activities have stalled, delayed or failed to take off thus scuttling its arrangements, two years to the high stakes polls.
Chebukati cited audit and maintenance of election technology, continued voter registration, voter education and awareness as some of the activities that have been affected by lack of budget.
The chairman disclosed that the commission was unable to audit the controversial technology it used in 2017 and plans to reuse in 2022.
“The commission has continued to maintain the KIEMS kits, Biometric Voter Registration (BVR), a system and wide area network to enhance their reusability in future elections,” Chebukati said.
“However, the commission has been unable to conduct the statutory audit of technology due to inadequate budget allocation,” Chebukati says in the commission’s annual report for 2019-20 tabled in the Senate by Majority leader Samuel Poghisio on Tuesday.
Last month, the commission advertised a tender for auditing the systems in readiness for the 2022 elections.
“The service provider will be required to carry out complete investigations and diagnosis of the BVR servers’ infrastructure and storage hardware and submit a status report,” the advert read.
In the current financial year, the commission received Sh4.66 billion from the National Treasury. Part of the amount, Sh1.11 billion, was spent on pending bills.
The IEBC boss said in the report that the agency urgently needs funds to clear audited pending bills, which stood at Sh3.12 billion as of June 30, 2019.
“The commission therefore appeals to Parliament and the National Treasury to provide funds for electoral activities throughout the electoral cycle.”
In 2020-21, the IEBC was allocated Sh4.4 billion for its routine activities and Sh259 million for boundaries review.
Chebukati further disclosed that the global Covid-19 pandemic greatly impacted the poll’s team work, which necessitated scaling down of activities, including continuous voter registration, voter education and outreach, by-elections and boundaries review.
“The outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic and the subsequent government measures to curb the spread of the virus affected the commission’s programmes and activities,” IEBC acting CEO Marjan Marjan said.
Among the by-elections that were postponed were Msambweni parliamentary seat, Kahawa Wendani, Kisumu North and Debaso.
However, the elections have been scheduled for December 5 after the commission developed clear protocols, which were subsequently approved by the Ministry of Health, to guide the exercise.
IEBC said it is ready to hold elections if Parliament is dissolved and warned of dire consequences for any malpractices in the Msambweni by-election.
Commissioner Abdi Guliye, who had appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity and Regional Integration, said they have over 900 staff who would deliver a credible election.
“I cannot talk about the budget because it would be premature. There is a committee that would normally come up with that budget,” he stated.
Guliye further said the commission will “deal decisively” with anyone who will engage in electoral malpractices in Msambweni.
In preparations of the boundaries delimitation, Chebukati said the commission has developed the boundaries review operations plan and conducted desktop review of data.
“However, the planned collection of delimitation data was affected following the outbreak of coronavirus,” he said.
To remedy the situation, the commission has adopted protocols to be adhered to while conducting activities that involve human interactions, he added.