IEBC to blow Sh9 million in Dubai trainings

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC ) is on the spot over plans to splash Sh9 million on executive training for commissioners and directors on boundaries review in Dubai.

Three commissioners including Chairman Wafula Chebukati, Boya Molu, and Abdi Guliye—and directors of voter registration, human resource, legal, research and development, ICT and Finance will attend the training in two groups from April 1 to April 12.

The first group includes the acting CEO Marjan Marjan, research director Catherine Kamindo, human resources director Lorna Onyang and legal affairs director Michael Goa.

The second group that comprises of commissioners Molu and Guliye, deputy commission secretary Obadia Keitany, ICT director Silas Njeru and voter registration director Rasi Masudi will be trained between April 6 and April 11.

Critical staffers who have major roles in boundary reviews have however been left out of the trip that will waste taxpayer’s money since the persons selected for the trip have a minimal role in boundary delimitation. The trip has also left out technical staff from the directorate of voter education and those from the boundaries directorate.

The troubled electoral body will throw over Sh1 million on each of the three commissioners and the acting chief executive officer for the week long training where directors will pocket Sh900,000 in allowances. Each commissioner is set to earn Sh92,664 per diem, totalling Sh648,700 for the seven days.

IEBC  will also spend Sh1.25 million in air tickets and Sh216,000 to train each person, bring the tuition fees to Sh2.16 million in total. The move is against the calls by the National Treasury’s austerity measures that encourages the use of local expertise to cut wastage.

Chebukati has defended the trip claiming that IEBC invests heavily in capacity building of its staffers and commissioners to discharge its constitutional mandate, adding that the staff will be trained on technical capacity and the commissioners will be trained on policy and oversight in specific areas.

The budget approval was unusually fast-tracked despite questions being raised on the timing of the trip as the delimitation will take place after the 2022 general election.

But this not the first time IEBC is being on the spot, in March 2019, concerns were raised about IEBC’s plan to splash Sh30 million in benchmarking on electoral boundaries in various countries, including South Africa which does not have constituencies.