…500 million dollars to be precise. That is how much Kenya’s Finance Minister says the grand coalition government will cost over the next two months. A small price to pay you might say for both President Kibaki and Raila Odinga to ensure all their cronies enjoy the feast, paving the way for a return to calm.
That certainly seemed the attitude on the lawn of State House a couple of weeks ago as one by one the 42 ministers and 50 odd assistant ministers pledged their allegiance to serving Kenyans. It was all cross-party handshakes and backslaps. Long lost friends re-united across a suddenly forgotten political divide.
Unfortunately for the Finance Minister he is presented with something of a headache: He is now $300 million dollars over budget. That is bad news for Kenyans. According to Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper the shortfall means slashing the budget of larger ministries. There will be $160 million less to spend on the education of Kenya’s next generation. The country’s potholes look set to deepen as the Ministry of Roads loses out on nearly $10 million – around about the cost of the Prime Minister’s office! But that’s ok…Odinga can chose between his government limo or privately-owned Hummer.
Hon. Kimunya better be sure he has a large-screen calculator ahead of this June's budget. He has some serious figures to fudge.
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