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Kenya: House Team to Probe Hotel Saga
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The Nation (Nairobi)
14 May 2008
Posted to the web 14 May 2008
Bernard Namunane
Nairobi
Finance minister Amos Kimunya and Central Bank governor Njuguna Ndung'u are to appear before a parliamentary committee investigating the handing over of Grand Regency Hotel to the Central Bank of Kenya.
However, Mr Kimunya and Prof Ndung'u on Monday sought permission from the House Finance Committee to appear before it next Tuesday to explain the circumstances under which businessman Kamlesh Pattni handed over the multi-billion-shilling hotel to the Government.
Committee chairman Chris Okemo said the two were scheduled to appear before his House team to shed light on the Grand Regency saga.
"The Finance minister has requested that they come before us next Tuesday and we have said okay to his request. However, they must be prepared to give us all the details surrounding the Grand Regency transaction," he said.
The decision by Mr Pattni - the Goldenberg financial rip-off architect - to hand over the hotel to the CBK has raised eyebrows with MPs and the civil society claiming that the luxurious facility has already been sold to a company with Libyan links.
Mr Pattni has asked to be absolved of all the criminal and civilian cases after handing over the hotel to CBK.
Monetary value
"We want to know how the hotel was handed over to the Central Bank of Kenyan and what informed the decision," said Mr Okemo who was elected committee chairman last week.
The finance committee will also question the monetary value of the hotel, how the process was conducted and whether proper Government procedures were followed.
This will mark the beginning of Parliament's scrutiny of official transactions since the grand coalition Government was established bringing together the PNU and ODM.
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Mr Okemo said they also want to be told how the hotel will be disposed of so that the taxpayer does not lose "a penny" in the transaction. "We should also be told what will happen to the hotel and how we can safeguard the public funds in question," he said.
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