KENYA: Gov't reassures donors it will carry on fighting corruption

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

NAIROBI, 14 Apr 2005 (IRIN) - Kenyan officials announced on Tuesday they had promised aid donors the country would continue to improve its anti-corruption strategy and its general management of public money.

"We have agreed on an action plan that will move the relationship between the government and development partners forward," David Mwiraria, Kenya's finance minister, told a news conference at the end of a two-day Consultative Group (CG) meeting with the country's development partners.

The meeting’s purpose was to review progess made towards implementing government development programmes, many of which are supported by international donors.

"We discussed the important policy reforms that the government needs to undertake this year to be able to mobilise resources that were committed last year," said Makhtar Diop, the World Bank’s country director for Kenya, Eritrea and Somalia, who chaired the CG meeting jointly with Mwiraria.

In 2003, donors pledged more than US $4 billion in grants and concessional loans to Kenya, but much of those funds have yet to be released - partly due to a perceived slackening of the government's commitment to fight corruption.

In his keynote address on Monday, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki reiterated his government's commitment to combating corruption, and outlined some of his administration's progress on that front since it came to power at the beginning of 2003.

He cited new anti-corruption laws and legislation concerning public officers’ ethics as evidence of the government's success so far.

"In addition, the government has already tabled in parliament bills that will further enhance accountability, and provide an enabling environment for the growth of the private sector," Kibaki said.

During the meeting, donors acknowledged that the country had taken significant steps to improve legislative framework regarding public-sector finances. However, they noted that key reforms on the procurement of goods and services for the government were still awaiting parliamentary approval.

According to the World Bank, Kenya's economic performance has been well below its potential during the past two decades, a fact that has led to increasing social inequalities and rising poverty amongst its 31 million population.

The richest 10 percent of Kenyan households control more than 42 percent of its total income, while the poorest 10 percent make do with less than 1 percent of the country's wealth, according to a report released by the planning ministry in October 2004.

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