|
|
CORRUPTION-KENYA: Calls for Government to Put Its Money Where Its Mouth Is
By Joyce Mulama
NAIROBI, Jan 5 (IPS) - For Kenyan authorities, 2005 promises to be a "crunch year" as far as tackling the country's pervasive corruption is concerned.
The words "corruption" and "graft" were never very far from Kenya’s news headlines in 2004.
It was a year of spirited debate about graft, and hearings into corruption scandals – a year that saw two multi-million-dollar government contracts come under investigation after it was revealed that proper tendering processes had not been followed by the departments concerned.
But despite this flurry of activity, did Kenya make real progress in its war on graft?
Overall, the feeling seems to be that there was more talk than action – and that heads will need to roll this year to convince the public that President Mwai Kibaki is living up to his campaign pledge of rooting out corruption.
Anti-graft hawks will watch with particular interest what becomes of a probe into the Goldenberg scandal – the largest of several government corruption scams to rock Kenya.
This swindle, which took place between 1990 and 1993, involved the fictitious export of gold and diamonds by Goldenberg International, a company owned by tycoon Kamlesh Pattni. These transactions were used to manipulate an export compensation scheme at a cost to government of about 600 million dollars, (certain reports indicate government may have lost as much as 850 million dollars).
Along with Pattni, several key political figures have been implicated in the scam. These include former president Daniel arap Moi, and former vice-presidents George Saitoti and Musalia Mudavadi. Saitoti currently serves as Minister of Education.
One of Kibaki’s first actions upon succeeding Moi in 2002 was to appoint a commission to investigate the scandal, which had prompted the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to suspend aid to Kenya.
While more than a hundred witnesses have testified before the commission, Moi and his associates have yet to do so. Lawyers representing them have denied they were involved in the Goldenberg affair.
Last year, civil society organisations successfully sought the court’s assistance in compelling the commission to obtain testimony from Moi and other key witnesses. However, the court also ruled that about 1,500 other witnesses needed to appear before the commission – something its chairman, Samuel Bosire, has dismissed as a "tall order". The ruling is now being appealed by the attorney-general.
"Until the principal witnesses – including Moi – come to testify, the Goldenberg Commission will not have served its mandate effectively," says Cyprian Nyamwamu, programmes coordinator at the National Convention Assembly, an alliance of civic groups.
"The principle witnesses, who are Moi and company, must take the stand – because if they do not, the culture of impunity will continue," he told IPS, adding "The government’s commitment to zero tolerance on corruption will also be put in question."
George Kegoro, secretary of the Goldenberg Commission, defends the work it has done, however.
"There is no reason to doubt. The commission will give to government a credible, strong and truthful report and the ball will be (with) government to reinforce the recommendations and follow them up," he said in an interview with IPS.
But, it isn’t only corruption scandals of old that are likely to dog officials this year. Kibaki’s administration also has a sizeable scam of its own to resolve: the so-called Anglo Leasing scandal, which broke in the first few months of 2004.
Two contracts were illegally awarded to Anglo Leasing and Finance – one to supply Kenya with a terrorist-proof system for manufacturing passports, another to set up forensic laboratories for the police. Payments of almost 90 million dollars were subsequently made to the company.
While little is known about Anglo Leasing and Finance, the firm reportedly has an agent in Britain – Saagar Associates – that has ties to members of the former government.
Finance Minister David Mwiraria and his national security counterpart, Chris Murungaru, have been implicated in the scam – but deny any wrongdoing. They also remain in office, despite public pressure for them to resign.
"This country respects the rule of the law, which says someone is innocent until proven guilty. Investigations into these scandals, including the Anglo Leasing (matter), are going on – and within one or two months we will be told who was actually involved," Assistant Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs Njeru Githae told IPS in an interview last year.
"If there is credible evidence, these officials will be taken to court. Let us not crucify them before investigations are over," he noted.
His words were echoed by the Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics, John Githongo – who is also the former head of the Kenyan chapter of Transparency International (TI-Kenya), a Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog.
"Investigations into Anglo Leasing are on and should hopefully be reaching a concluding phase. Already six million dollars of Anglo Leasing funds have been recovered," he told IPS.
But, these assurances leave civil society groups cold.
"We are told that investigations into the matter are underway, but it is taking too long. The scandal was exposed in March this year and I do not think it should take this long for the government to give the public a report on the matter," says Mwalimu Mati, deputy executive director of TI-Kenya.
A new Public Procurement Bill, still under discussion, would go some way towards helping Kenya avoid a repeat of the Anglo Leasing scandal, as it promises to open the tendering process for government contracts to greater scrutiny.
But here again, Kibaki’s administration is accused of dragging its feet – officials of delaying passage of the bill to shore up support ahead of a poll in 2007.
"The bill has been held hostage for a year as politicians focus on soliciting votes ahead of the general elections to be held in 2007," claims Mati. "The electoral appetite has become a priority, overshadowing important developmental concerns such as corruption."
Concerns about the procurement bill and other corruption-related matters have elicited criticism from members of the diplomatic community in Kenya, perhaps most famously British High Commissioner Edward Clay. In a speech delivered last year, he said certain Kenyan officials were guilty of a greed that caused them "to vomit all over our shoes".
"It is not fair to sentence people to three years imprisonment for stealing only one goat and leave those who have stolen millions to go free," he was quoted as saying in another address delivered last month.
These concerns were also articulated in the 2004 edition of the Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer, which surveys public perceptions of corruption.
"In Kenya, reports of grand corruption, many emanating from some of the highest offices in the land, continue to dominate the media with very little evidence of concerted action on the part of government," the report noted. (END/2005)
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
What is RSS?
