Kenya should net the ‘big fish’ in war against graft

NAIROBI: Two years ago, I asked a question in Parliament for the Treasury to update the country on implementation of the Kroll report commissioned in 2003 by the Narc Government. I engaged top exchequer mandarins. All of them snobbishly brushed aside my inquiries. Not even the Parliamentary Committee on Finance prompts were honoured. Some three years on, nothing is forthcoming. Isn’t this outright impunity? Isn’t this blatant contempt of parliamentary oversight by the Executive?

Foreign phantom companies routinely get tenders on ‘commissions,’ bribes. Jersey and Isle of Man are among hitherto unquestioned jurisdictions suspected for routine use for dubious transactions. Other jurisdictions including Liechtenstein, Austria, Dubai, France, Swiss, and the United Kingdom have also been loot havens for African aristocrats, oligarchs and their cronies. Clearly, the willingness and collaboration of these jurisdictions is critical to bringing culprits to book. We laud the new vigour to collaborate. But local determination seems significantly inhibited by domestic complexities of politics. It is gratifying that the Swiss have dedicated to help us recover stolen monies in their jurisdiction.