ODM leader Raila Odinga has come out to exposed the government, over an oil deal signed in April this year.
The deal, dubbed Government-to-Government Memorandum of Understanding, was allegedly signed between Kenyan with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for supply of oil to Kenya on favourable terms
According to the opposition leader, the deal is a total scam, and the country did not enter into the deal but only the ministry of energy.
“There was no G-to-G. Kenya did not sign any contract with Saudi Arabia or the UAE. Only the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum signed a deal with state owned petroleum companies in the Middle East. Why Ruto chose to characterize the deal as a G-to-G is the first red flag that points to mischief in this deal.
“We now know that the characterization of this deal as G-to-G was meant to shield the three Kenyan companies from paying 30 per cent corporate tax. I will return to this matter,” Raila said in a long statement.
Another fact that Raila table was that the price of oil has been shooting up since the deal was signed. He noted that the Kenyan shilling has as well been falling against the dollar and that landlocked countries that were depending on Kenya for the fuel supply were pulling out “because our pipeline because it has become too expensive.”
Raila has since issued 10 demands to the government regarding the deal as captured below;
1.Ruto must immediately cancel the contract and revert to the Open Tender System which ensured guaranteed supply of petroleum products. It assigned responsibility to various players as opposed to the so called G to G that is making Kenyans depend on one inefficient and corrupt player. The open tender system was efficient, accountable and competitive and offered prices commensurate with international pricing model.
2. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission needs to move in not to sanitize but to get to the bottom of how and why we got into this deal and who is benefiting from it.
3. The men and women who came up with this self-serving deal must be surcharged and sacked.
4. The government must restore taxes to 8 per cent from the 16 percent that came with the Finance Act.
5. The government must make public the so-called MoU between Kenya and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
6. The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum must make public the deal it signed with the oil companies.
7. The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum must make public the Supplier Purchase Agreement it signed with the oil companies.
8. EACC and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations must investigate the tax compliance status and pricing model of the three oil companies.
9. The Kenya Revenue Authority must come clean on the tax compliance status of the three oil companies and explain why they are being enabled to evade billions in taxes while ordinary Kenyans are being harassed for taxes.
10. We need a comprehensive brief on what the move by Uganda to pursue much of its petroleum needs through the Tanzanian Central corridor means to our country especially to the future of the Kenya Pipeline Company.
