By IPS Correspondents
NAIROBI, Oct 21 2004 (IPS)

Kenya pulled off what some might view as an unexpected feat this week by improving its standing in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index.

Every year, the Berlin-based non-governmental organisation ranks several countries according to the levels of corruption that are perceived to exist in their public sectors. This information is gathered from various polls of local and international analysts and entrepreneurs.

According to Transparency International (TI), this year’s index was based on 18 surveys conducted across 146 countries. Kenya was placed in 131st position on the index, earning a score of 2.1 out of a possible 10.

Countries which score less than three out of ten on the index are said by TI to be afflicted with “rampant” corruption: widespread graft that is nonetheless coupled with efforts to eradicate it.

Last year, a score of 1.9 relegated Kenya to the group of countries where corruption was thought to be “acute” (this term that applies to states that earn less than two out of ten on the index). Graft in these nations is seen as pervasive.

Kenya was one of 60 states surveyed by the 2004 index where corruption was thought to be rampant.

Kenya’s improved position on the index comes in the wake of ever-louder complaints from donors which accuse Nairobi of not doing enough to curb graft – even though President Mwai Kibaki came to power at the end of 2002 on an anti-corruption ticket.

The criticism was spearheaded by British High Commissioner Edward Clay, who made the first of two criticisms of the Kenyan government in July – accusing its ministers of large-scale corruption.

The United States’ ambassador, William Bellamy, followed suit – while the European Union, Kenya’s second-largest donor, deferred budgetary aid to the country in July.

This came after a scandal involving the dubious allocation of two contracts to Anglo Leasing and Finance – one to supply a passport-manufacturing system which could not be manipulated by terrorists, and another for building and equipping forensic laboratories for the Criminal Investigations Department.

In both instances, the contracts were awarded in the absence of competing tenders.

Payments of almost 90 million dollars were made to Anglo Leasing and Finance, which is represented in Britain by a firm that allegedly has ties with persons who served under former President Daniel Arap Moi. All of this money has reportedly been returned to government.

To date, several high-ranking officials have been dismissed in connection with the scandal, while Finance Minister David Mwiraria and his national security counterpart, Chris Murungaru, have also been implicated in the matter. Both men have distanced themselves from the allegations.

More recently, German ambassador Bernd Braun said his country would re-institute a ban on loans to Kenya if officials fail to implement convincing anti-corruption strategies.

Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevick also told an anti-corruption gathering held in Nairobi Oct. 12 and 13 that authorities needed to show more resolve in fighting graft by taking action against politicians with dirty hands.

Mwalimu Mati, deputy executive director of the Kenyan chapter of TI (TI-Kenya), says while the 2004 Corruption Perceptions Index charts positive developments in Kenya, much remains to be done in the fight to root out graft.

“Though there is a very slight change for the better.this should not be the occasion for resting on our laurels,” he noted at the launch of the index in Nairobi, Wednesday.

“Where people have been implicated (in corruption), we must see them stepping down to give way for investigations,” Mati added. “I think if we tackle the Anglo Leasing issue satisfactorily, perceptions of the country’s corruption levels may change next year.”

The new Public Procurement Bill, currently before parliament, is viewed as a key element in avoiding future instances of corruption related to public contracts. Published late last year, the bill seeks to create an independent public procurement authority that will operate free of political interference.

To its credit, government has established an anti-corruption commission which is headed by retired judge Aaron Ringera. The former head of TI-Kenya, John Githongo, has also been appointed permanent secretary of ethics and governance.

In addition, a probe is underway into the infamous Goldenberg affair, which involved the fictitious export of gold and diamonds from Kenya in the early 1990s.

About 600 million dollars are said to have been drained from government coffers as a result of the scam, which contributed to the 2000 decision by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to suspend aid to Kenya. Moi has been implicated in the Goldenberg scandal.

Although Nairobi’s commitment to fighting graft has been questioned by Clay and others, the IMF has given Kibaki a vote of confidence by resuming aid to his administration.

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