ODM to give Nasa affiliates Sh152m parties' fund

ODM  will be giving its affiliates in the National Super Alliance Sh152 million share of the political parties cash.

This is a climb down from the earlier demand by the affiliates that they share equally Sh7.5 billion owed to the Raila Odinga-led party by the Registrar of Political parties for the 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years.

After weeks of internal deliberations, ODM resolved to only share Sh308 million, monies that the Orange party received courtesy of the parliamentary votes.

This translates to 4.1 per cent of the amount the affiliates were demanding and which Chungwa House insiders termed ‘a small price to pay for peace’.

Initially,  Nasa affiliate leaders Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Musalia Mudavadi (ANC) and Moses Wetang'ula (Ford Kenya) had demanded to split the Sh7.5 billion the parties are supposed to get for the financial years 2017-2020.

According to documents seen by the Star detailing how the cash will be shared, ODM will still get the lion’s share of the Sh308 million because of its parliamentary strength followed by Wiper, ANC, Ford Kenya and Isaac Ruto’s Chama Cha Mashinani.

The Orange party will pocket Sh187.9 million.

Kalonzo’s Wiper will get Sh70.4 million for the three financial years with ANC getting Sh43.8 million. Ford Kenya will get Sh36 million and Ruto’s CCM will take home Sh3 million.

For the 2017-18, ODM received Sh70.8 million and pocketed Sh43 million giving Wiper Sh12.7 million, ANC Sh7.7 million, Ford Kenya Sh6.3 million and CCM Sh708,699.

In 2018-19, the shareable amount remained the same with parties receiving same allocation as 2017-18.

In the financial year 2019-20, the funding increased to Sh166.3 million. From the amount, ODM got Sh101.4 million, Wiper Sh44.9 million, ANC Sh28 million, Ford-Kenya Sh23 million and CCM Sh1.6 million.

Even as the three Nasa affiliates—ANC, Wiper and CCM— will be smiling all the way to the bank, Wetang'ula’s Ford Kenya will wait longer for its share of the cash until the leadership wrangles currently in High Court are determined.

The Bungoma senator is entangled in a leadership tussle with a faction led by Kanduyi MP Wafula Wamunyinyi and his Tongaren counterpart Eseli Simiyu.

Sources told Star that it took a series of meetings between Raila and Kalonzo to have the three affiliates climb down and settle for what ODM had to offer.

Sources privy to the meetings said that the Wiper leader during the meetings admitted that they were not entitled to cash being received by ODM given the coalition did not participate in the repeat presidential election.

Kalonzo was representing Mudavadi and Wetang'ula in the talks.

Yesterday, ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna said the development has confirmed party’s long held position that they were not entitled to the monies the Orange party had been receiving.

“We are happy that the affiliates finally accepted our long held position that from a plain reading of the agreement, they were not entitled to any money,” Sifuna told the Star.

“This settlement has been reached on a strictly without prejudice basis,  because they deserve nothing if we are to strictly go by the agreement. In fact what we are sharing is the ODM share of the fund not their entitlement.”

-Edited by SKanyara