Kenya to seek Sh6bn refund from UN for Somalia war troops

Money Markets

 

William Oeri | NATION Kenyan troops heading to Amuma border entry point to flush out al Shabaab militants. Putting the troops under the African Union command means Treasury will not bear the full cost of the war, but will benefit from the pool of finances available to the peace-keeping mission.

 

 

By GEORGE NGIGI

Kenya will seek a reimbursement of Sh6.1 billion next year from the United Nations for its defence forces in Somalia under the African Union Mission (Amisom).

The Treasury has complained in the past about the slow pace of the refund that has put it under budgetary pressure

“Security is necessary for encouraging investment, accelerating growth and creating more jobs for our youth. To this end the following allocation has been provided; Sh6.1 billion for AMISOM,” reads a document submitted by the National Treasury Secretary to Parliament on Wednesday.

As at November last year, the Treasury had included Sh26.8 billion spent by Kenya Defence Forces in Somalia in its budget review and outlook paper, meaning the refunds were outstanding.

Delay in reimbursement of the money has been linked to UN’s insistence on proper verification of Kenya’s claims that are yet to be done, culminating in budgetary pressures with the continued build-up of public expenditure obligations.

Kenya launched an incursion into Somalia in October 2011 in response to incessant attacks and kidnappings by Al-Shabaab militants within its territory but received approval from UN Security Council to join Amisom in 2012.

Under the deal, Kenyan soldiers were to receive a monthly allowance of Sh88,408 ($1,028) besides their salaries as well as a comprehensive medical cover and access to advanced equipment.

Taxpayers

Kenyan taxpayers were to bear the cost of naval hardware that was not covered by the UN resolution.

Amisom was expected to repay Kenya all the money spent from the date of the UN resolution until June 2012 when Amisom was to begin catering for the soldiers directly.

The UN was also expected to reimburse Kenya the cost of fuel used to power her naval ships.

Kenya has in the past used its ambassador to the UN, Macharia Kamau, to demand the reimbursements claiming that failure to refund the money was not only “unacceptable”, but also “unsustainable.