PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI Former Anti-corruption bosses Patrick Lumumba (Left)
and John Githongo addressing the press in Nairobi on January 26, 2013
where they condemned the tendering of proposed Standard Gauge Railway
Project They want government to terminate the process and begin a fresh.
NATION MEDIA GROUP
The Jubilee administration is facing
increasing pressure over corruption allegedly taking root at high levels
and influencing tenders worth billions of shillings.
The
latest salvo was fired Sunday when Uongozi, an advocacy group
associated with the former anti-corruption czar John Githongo, wrote an
open letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta asking him to suspend the Sh425
billion Mombasa-Malaba railway project until all questions that have
been raised over the tender are answered.
“We write to
you as patriot citizens in good faith, to share our deepening concerns
regarding a number of issues which in our humble view threaten the soul
of our beloved nation,” the group said in the letter signed by Mr
Githongo, Dr PLO Lumumba and Mr Tom Mboya.
“We have
reached a critical tipping point hence our decision to address you...
Given the whiff of irregularity, it is our submissions that it would be
prudent to immediately terminate the current process and begin a
transparent process afresh, so as to ensure efficiency and value for
money.”
COMMITTED TO FIGHTING GRAFT
But
on Sunday, the spokesman for the Presidency, Mr Manoah Esipisu, said Mr
Kenyatta was committed to the fight against corruption.
“The
President has even launched a website on which to report any cases. He
is always in touch with anti-corruption agencies,” he said.
Deputy
President William Ruto also declared that the government would neither
engage in business with corrupt cartels nor accept to be held to
ransom.
“We are here to serve all Kenyans, not a few
greedy individuals,” Mr Ruto said at St Monica ACK church, Dandora
during a thanksgiving service for Embakasi North MP James Mwangi Kaguya.
“No one and nothing will stop us from building the
railway, building the roads, giving children laptops and doing
irrigation among other pledges as enunciated in our manifesto.”
Earlier,
the Consumer Federations of Kenya warned that the rising number of
corruption cases could make the cost of living too high for Kenyans as
cartels will block the flow of cheaper services to the public.
“This
is no longer just about the government because it has demonstrated that
it has a weak ability to fight corruption,” said Cofek
secretary-general Stephen Mutoro.
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) said some of the cases could take long to be concluded.
“These
scandals seem to be in succession, but the EACC is very much aware. If
we get a good case, we will let everyone know,” said Mr Yasin Amaro, the
commission’s public communications officer.
Since May,
questions have been raised on some of the government’s investment and
expenditure decisions. Among the most prominent was the controversial
hiring of a luxury jet for the Deputy President, the airport expansion
project, repair works on the Deputy President’s official house in Karen
and the multi-billion-shilling railway tender.
This
month, the controversial Tassia NSSF project has come to light after Mr
Francis Atwoli, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions
secretary-general called it “the scandal of the year” for supposedly
going forward without a formal board approval
.
.
Yesterday,
Mr Atwoli, who has since written to the Ombudsman to complain about the
project, said every participant in the scandal should be punished
regardless of status.
“Cotu wishes to see any
individual involved in defrauding Kenyans dealt with irrespective of
his/her political persuasions,” he told journalists in a statement.
SUSPENDED PROJECT
Last
week, Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi suspended the Sh5.053
billion housing venture to allow time to address Cotu’s complaints.
The
renewed focus on corruption comes just a day after key Jubilee
coalition figures led by National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale
and Senate Majority leader Kithure Kindiki gave President Kenyatta an
ultimatum to expose corruption cartels tainting his administration.
Speaking
at a funeral in Kieni, Nyeri, the leaders claimed that corruption
networks were blackmailing the government by pretending to expose graft
after losing out on lucrative procurement deals.
The
leaders seemed to be targeting critics of the railway project led by
Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter, who has claimed that the tender was riddled
with corruption.
The MPs accused Mr Keter and other
Jubilee critics of being used by merchants and wheeler-dealers who were
out to discredit the government and derail important projects after
losing out on tenders.
They cited the networks
inherited from the Kibaki government, such as those behind the
Anglo-Leasing scandal, which they claimed were still in government and
trying to resume their activities.
The railway deal is the subject of investigations by two parliamentary committees.
Starehe
MP Maina Kamanda, who chairs the Transport Committee, hit out at
unnamed individuals who have allegedly infiltrated the government to try
and influence decision-making.
Mr Kamanda accused the individuals of seeking to hold the government to ransom.
Speaking to the Nation on condition of confidentiality, a State House official agreed with the claims made by the Jubilee MPs.
“It
is a motley of groups that have had long interest in government. They
are so deep in government that nothing can happen without them having
their hands on it,” the source said. “They are the reason some of the
projects have not taken place even though money was released.
They are now back seeking to demonise the grand projects like the railway.”
CARTELS
Senator Kipchumba Murkomen also spoke of cartels who he accused of seeking to hold the government to ransom.
Senate
Majority leader Kithure Kindiki had earlier said a few wealthy people
were using their connections to intimidate people in government to award
them tenders.
“You can intimidate some people some time, but you cannot intimidate all the people all the time,” he said.
And
Mr Duale cautioned the cartels against using the courts to achieve
their goals, saying Kenya now has a reformed Judiciary that did not
condone corruption.
Reports by Bernard Namunane, Aggrey Mutambo and Ouma Wanzala
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