MPs too divided along party lines to act for public good, says Raila Odinga

Opposition chief Raila Odinga

NAIROBI: Lack of political goodwill has undermined the fight against corruption, Opposition chief Raila Odinga has said.

Raila said Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had regularly exposed financial irregularities, even in previous regimes, but there was no political goodwill to implement recommendations.

He said corruption was more rampant than has been seen in many years because Parliament had not fully exercised its mandate as a guardian of the sanctity of public finances.

"Our MPs are too divided along party lines to stand up for the public good. We have seen MPs defend blatant theft of public funds and other acts of corruption just because of party affiliations. We need to overcome that divide and act like true watchdogs on behalf of the public," he said.

The Opposition coalition leader spoke during the second African Organisation for Public Accounts Committee Conference in Nairobi. He said Parliaments had jurisdiction and were duty bound to oversee performance of their respective revenue authorities.

"Although the technical capacity of revenue authorities has been substantially strengthened over the past decade or two, revenue collection has been inadequate in many African countries," he added.

He said Africa's illicit financial flows epitomised what was currently wrong and unjust in international commerce.