The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party secretary-general Edwin Sifuna has decried the delay in the release of funds owed to the party from the national treasury saying the party was struggling to operate effectively.
Sifuna on Tuesday morning appreciated that the state had paid Ksh200 million to the party but feared it could take at least 40 years for the state to clear the debt.
The arrears had been accumulated from Ksh4 billion since the 2011 to 2016 period and there has been reluctance in paying off the debt.
“The debt owed to the ODM Party by Treasury is Sh7.7 billion. This financial year Parliament allocated Sh200 million only towards the settlement of the debt meaning it will take close to 40 years to fully pay up at that rate,” Sifuna said in a tweet.
According to Sifuna, the party had massive financial expenses and required proper and timely funding that would rescue it from the looming danger that could see its operations crippled.
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Sifuna told the Standard that in the Msambweni by-elections, for instance, ODM will require at least Ksh10 Million, exclusive of funding the campaign trail.
The party has two candidates, Omar Idd Boga and Nicholas Zani who are expected to stage a major face-off in the party primaries.
The ODM party financial reports for this year shows its expenditure rose from Sh216 million in 2019 to Sh304 million in 2020.
It is also captured in the records that the value of ODM net assets stands at Sh7.8 billion this year up from Sh6.6 billion last year while its revenue dropped by more than 5 billion over the same period.
