UN delays Sh4bn refund for Kenyan troops in Somalia

Politics and policy

Kenyan envoy to the UN Macharia Kamau. PHOTO | FILE 

By LYNET IGADWAH

In Summary

• The Treasury says the UN failed to remit the targeted Sh4.04 billion in the six months to December without giving an explanation.
• This worsened the government budget reeling from a shortfall in taxes as Kenya Revenue Authority failed to hit revenue targets by Sh23 billion.
• In the past, delay in reimbursement of the money has been linked to the UN’s insistence on proper verification of Kenya’s claims.

The UN has delayed refunding Sh4 billion for Kenyan troops fighting Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia by more than six months.

The Treasury says the UN failed to remit the targeted Sh4.04 billion in the six months to December without giving an explanation.

This worsened the government budget reeling from a shortfall in taxes as Kenya Revenue Authority failed to hit revenue targets by Sh23 billion.

Kenya is expecting Sh6.1 billion from the international community for the operation and has in the past complained about the slow pace of the refunds.

In the past, delay in reimbursement of the money has been linked to the UN’s insistence on proper verification of Kenya’s claims.

In October 2011, the country formally sent 4,660 soldiers to Somalia after incessant attacks and kidnapping by Al-Shabaab militants within its territory.

A year later, the UN Security Council gave Kenya the green light to join African Union Mission to Somalia (Amisom), a decision that meant the Treasury would not bear the full costs of the incursion.

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Amisom is an eight-year- old operation with nearly 20,000 troops from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Sierra Leone and Kenya.

Amisom refunded Kenya the monies spent from the date of the UN resolution until June 2012 when Amisom began catering for the soldiers directly.

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

The entry into Somalia to battle Al-Shabaab has triggered a series of grenade and bomb attacks as the militant group pushes Kenya to withdraw from the country. This has spurred the UK, US, Australia and France to warn their citizens against travelling to Kenya.

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.”

The UN cut compensation for the Kenyan in Somalia by a fifth to Sh4.69 billion in the year to June.