Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery. The Interior ministry has rung the alarm bells after its security budget was slashed, starving some of its activities like border patrols and construction of a forensic police laboratory. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
By JOHN NJAGI
The Interior ministry has rung the alarm bells after its
security budget was slashed, starving some of its activities like border
patrols and construction of a forensic police laboratory.
Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery told Parliament’s National Security Committee that should the Sh59.3 billion shortfall not be plugged, he should not be blamed for security lapses.
Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery told Parliament’s National Security Committee that should the Sh59.3 billion shortfall not be plugged, he should not be blamed for security lapses.
“If you do not give us
enough money please don’t blame the General (himself) but yourselves for
failing to push for resources,” he said.
The
ministry had requested Sh161 billion but the Treasury allocated Sh102
billion, meaning programmes such as setting up 25 police posts on the
Kenya-Somalia border to deal with an influx of illegal immigrants and
infiltration by terrorists, and acquisition of 2,000 motorbikes for
chiefs, would have to be shelved.
Mr Nkaissery said out of the Sh2.2 billion the ministry had requested to patrol the porous border, no funds had been allocated.
Other programmes that were affected include the digitisation of the national population register at Sh1 billion.
This
was meant to detect aliens to whom identification documents are issued
fraudulently or who are not captured in the national database.
Other
affected programmes include medical insurance for police officers where
only Sh1.7 billion was allocated against a requirement of Sh7.2
billion, a police modernisation programme, where only half of the
required Sh20 billion was made available.
Other
security-related areas where there is a shortage of funding include the
e-passport programme where Sh400 million has been allocated, a shortfall
of Sh300 million.
Mr Nkaissery also asked the National
Assembly to push for a Sh1.5 billion additional allocation to complete
projects for the National Police Service.
The police
are also pushing for Sh700 million for the construction of a forensic
lab and procurement and construction of shooting ranges at Sh2 billion.
Also
appearing before the committee was Interior PS Monica Juma,
Coordination of National Government PS Josephat Mukobe and
Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet.
Ms Juma
said among the programmes the ministry had managed to undertake is the
leasing of 1,500 vehicles for the police, although 700 were yet to be
delivered, and the recruitment of 10,000 additional police officers
whose training was already under way at Kiganjo Police Training College.
Kilome
MP Regina Nthambi said the Treasury should provide the required funds
to the Interior ministry, saying if the country was plunged into further
insecurity, no one, even the Treasury officials would be able to reach
their offices.
“Kenyans are living in fear and the
government is not being felt on the ground and that’s why enough
resources are needed to protect lives and property,” she said.
Ms
Juma said among the emerging crimes were global terrorism, piracy,
transnational offences such as trafficking and cybercrimes, youth
radicalisation, cattle rustling and increased alcohol and drug abuse.
She also pushed for more resources for regional and county commissioners.
DAILY NATION.
DAILY NATION.