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Citizen Weekly

Sunday 14 December 2014

MATEMU SET TO TURN HEAT ON CIVIL SERVANTS COLLUDING WITH BANKS

The Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission which this year has not netted any big fish is now understood to have raised the red flag over crooked staff both in the banking industry and civil service who are running amok stealing taxpayers funds using all manner of dubious tricks either through single source tenders for supplies or outright theft of public funds under their care.
In an end of year audit report leaked to Weekly Citizen, EACC is understood to be disturbed that graft cases it has followed up in the public sector which should have concluded with culprits facing jail terms have failed to take off despite glaring and overwhelming evidence that EACC sleuths were pursuing.
The report expresses outrage at what is seen as clear “bribery of its investigators” that have been blowing hot and cold in one specific instance, the sleuths were lavished with “cash for petrol” which it said is unacceptable violation of the law with impunity and vowed to crack the whip. “Those who have either stolen public funds or abused their position to protect culprits or facilitate acts of wanton corruption must face the full force of the law.”
The report cites cases where cheques having been forged by subordinate staffs that have been interdicted but the cases failed to take off in court after “a strange cold wind blew all the evidence into dustbin!” The EACC is emphatic it will soon arraign both “small and big fish” who have fiddled with public funds in court to face the law adding it has evidence some hospital CEOs in counties have abused their positions to enrich themselves with impunity “something that is unacceptable”.
Ever since the anti-graft body was set up in 1992 by now retired President Daniel Moi, it has never arraigned any big fish worth writing home about even as the country continues to reel under reports of mega corruption like the Anglo Leasing and Goldenberg where taxpayers have lost billions of shillings. Only former Kilome MP and Pick boss John Harun Mwau made a bold effort to arrest senior treasury officials implicated in importing duty free sugar in the 1990s but he did not last as his orders were reversed by the courts and he was later to be shown the door. Enter Aaron Ringera, he did nothing apart from arresting small policemen at roadblocks for pocketing Sh50 bribes. He kept talking of going for the big fish which never happened as he laughed all the way to the bank every month Sh2.5 million richer! Patrick Lumumba spoke of “high voltage files” but he too save for his characteristic flowery speeches did next to zero in the fight against corruption in government and public sector.
At the same time, the EACC is understood to have written to the Kenya Bankers Association asking for a complete list of rogue  staff in the banking industry past and present accused of graft who it says must be blacklisted and details of their cases made public including  court judgment of their cases saying in some cases, staff in KCB and Equity among others have colluded with accounts clerks in public institutions to steal taxpayers cash especially costsharing funds in public hospitals. “This must now stop and hospital CEOs are put on notice that it will no longer be business as usual” says the 300-page report on graft in government, parastatals and public sector year ending 2014-2015.

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