Tuesday, July 27, 2004
World Bank urges Kenya to act against graft
Reuters Nairobi, July 27
The World Bank urged Kenya on Tuesday to act against corruption following accusations by graft watchdogs that officials were stealing public funds.
"We consider the allegations of misprocurement of passport equipment to reflect the kind of personal greed that drove Kenya into the ranks of the world's most corrupt nations," the head of the bank's Kenya office, Makhtar Diop said.
"We are eager to see the outcome of the ongoing investigation and even more eager to see action taken to ensure that the safeguards are in place to avoid a repetition," Diop said in an article in the Daily Nation newspaper.
President Mwai Kibaki is under fire from donor states and graft watchdogs who accuse him of tolerating corruption in high places.
His government has launched an investigation into a 2.7 billion shilling ($33 million) project to improve Kenya's system for issuing passports that his own officials have said involved serious irregularities.
The European Union said last week it had postponed a decision on an aid package Kenya needs for its budget because of graft concerns.
"We stand where we have stood for a very long time -- with the people of Kenya, whenever they express their outrage over diversion for personal gain of scarce funds needed to reduce poverty and provide essential government services," Diop said.
Britain, a key donor, says the rate of theft of public funds by top officials is even quicker than that seen under Kibaki's predecessor Daniel arap Moi.
Kibaki, who won a December 2002 election on pledges to stamp out graft that flourished during Moi's 24-year rule, announced an anti-corruption campaign in July last year but progress has been slow.
The World Bank in June approved loans and grants of $262 million for projects focused on water, transport and farming.
The bank and major Western donors promised $4.1 billion in long term funds to fight poverty last December after the International Monetary Fund restarted lending in November following a three-year gap caused by worries over corruption.
Diop said Kenya needed more efficient government procurement and more accuracy and transparency in internal financial reporting. It also needed to speed up plans to sell parastatal corporations in the finance sector, which he said had been vehicles for corrupt transactions for many years.
"We would be keen to see movement on the privatisation front, as there is a strategy in place ready to be implemented," he wrote.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.