- In his "covenant with Kenyans", Waihiga pledged to go after illegally acquired wealth stashed abroad.
- He said Kenyans have lost about Sh10 trillion to corruption in 10 years, more than enough to repay Chinese loans.
Image: ENOS TECHE
Agano presidential candidate Mwaure Waihiga has put the anti-corruption war and seizure of illegally acquired wealth at the heart of his administration if he wins the election.
Speaking on Monday while unveiling his manifesto, Waihiga said Kenyans waited in faith for almost 60 years for the liberation of the nation from the snares of corruption.
The ordained minister pledged to go for illegally acquired wealth stashed abroad, money he said has undercut productivity and development in Kenya.
He said the amount “exceeds the country’s annual budget of Sh3.3 trillion by almost 10 times".
He said that is enough to repay loans from the Chinese government.
“Of the four presidential candidates, two of them have fought in Kenya’s army [government] before. They have had opportunity to slay the giant — the Goliath called corruption.
"The other one, who is more of a joker than a leader, is in the intelligence, because one never retires from intelligence,” Waihiga said.
His running mate, Ruth Mucheru-Mutua, asked Kenyans not to vote for leaders who have been tainted by corruption and other societal ills.
“We bring more than a manifesto. We bring a covenant to Kenyans,” she said.
Of the money lost to corruption, the presidential candidate said, "This in 10 years translates to 20 trillion.
"Consider the same leaders that are spearheading and leading my competition, whether they are doing so from the front, the middle or the back room, are the same who were in our government 20 years ago,” Waihiga said.
He said projects in his administration will be funded by money recovered from illegal foreign accounts.
He said his government will establish a Stolen Wealth Recovery and Repatriation Commission.
He explained the commission will work with reports from past anti-corruption task forces to zero in on its targets.
“In about 2017-18, it was widely reported by reputable international groups and organisations that wealthy Kenyans were hiding more than Sh15 trillion in foreign banks.
"This again is twice the foreign or Chinese loan of Sh8.2 trillion,” he said.
Waihiga said he will form a Truth and Recovery Commission to to assist in recovery of stolen funds.
To deal with the high cost of living, Waihiga pledged to introduce unga and other foods subsidies immediately.
He also promised to waive 50 per cent of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and tax penalties from the dates he is sworn in.
Waihiga said the last 20 to 30 years are those years when his competitors have been in power and the years of mega scandals.
He named the scandals as Kemsa, National Youth Service, Goldernberg, Eurobond, Anglo Leasing, Triton, cemetery, Afya House, Chickengate, Grand Regency, maize, NCPB and laptop tenders.
“We are different because we owe nobody allegiance. The others have only been saying what they will do, without telling us where the money will come from. For us, we say our money is out there,” the candidate said.
Waihiga added that Kenya is where it is because corruption has been systematised and Kenyans have allowed leaders to pledge to root out corruption, without holding them to account.
He further said Kenyans have turned a blind eye to scandals and allowed leaders — who can make a phone call — to let their participation in scandals be swept under the carpet.
“We have also allowed wastage because we have continued to elect the same leaders even when they have exhibited poor stewardship of resources. We have resigned ourselves to disappointment — when we have heard our leaders have trillions stashed away in foreign bank accounts,” he Waihiga said.
“I feel we have been circling the same mountain for 59 years, and I am convinced that now is the best time to break the cycle — break the covenants that do not serve our nation and re-establish God’s covenant with Kenya.”
He said all three manifestos so far — Raila Odinga's, Deputy President William Ruto's and “the bangi, snake, and hyena rubbish” — are a big miss.
He pledged that any illegal money that comes into this country will become government property as a way of stopping money laundering.
To boost agriculture, he said all ministry officials will be vetted, including include former ministers, Permanent Secretaries and parastatal boards.
He promised to ban the importation of basic food commodities such as maize, rice, meat, eggs, edible oils, and any other locally grown food.
He said state corporations like the National Cereals and Produce Board and others will be run by directly elected representatives of farmers.
He further promised to move swiftly to establish state fertiliser plants.
On health, Waihiga promised to undertake a comprehensive audit of all running Ministry of Health contracts at the national and county levels, terminating all corrupt contracts and leasing agreements.
“My government will establish a National Health Commission to tame rising health costs in both private and public institutions,” he said.
On education, he promised to end roadside curriculum changes and systematic meddling in and strangulation of teachers' unions by government.
He pledged free education from primary school to university, which will be complemented by a curriculum with appropriate skill sets at all levels of education.
He said his government will not only actualise the Judicial Fund, but ensure that it is adequate to fund the processes of expeditious justice.
“All corruption cases will be handled expeditiously, within three months,” he promised.
He added that the Auditor General and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission will be given prosecutorial powers.
(Edited by V. Graham)