We will fight those milking Kenya dry to the bitter end, says President Uhuru Kenyatta

President Uhuru Kenyatta has reiterated that no one will be spared in the war against corruption irrespective of their status in society.

He vowed that the Government would not relent in the fight against the vice that he said is “milking the country dry”.

“There should be no excuse when we come to accountability. The Government will treat everyone as one when it comes to this fight,” he said in a strongly worded statement read by Devolution Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri. 

“County governments must work with us to stem corruption, wastage and institutional infighting, which is a serious threat to devolution. By the next financial year, we will have disbursed Sh1 trillion to counties, Kenyans demand accountability of these funds,” said the President. He also challenged the governors to help stem wastage in the counties.

The governors, however, protested that they were being unfairly targeted in the graft war as the devolution conference opened in Meru yesterday.

Personalise corruption

“There are attempts to personalise corruption in counties by heaping the blame on governors. Governors are just CEOs, we have people who work with us, why the double standards at the counties? We do not see the President being held accountable for loss of funds in ministries?” said Council of Governors Chairman (CoG) Peter Munya.

Nine governors were named on President Kenyatta’s list of shame last year.

The President further urged all parties to unite to ensure that devolution succeeds. “Deepening devolution means consolidating efforts in a democratic environment. A full implementation process requires the involvement of all major players,” Mr Kenyatta said.

The Head of State’s decision to demand accountability and transparency in counties, however, hasn’t gone down well with the governors.

“What the President said recently during the State of the Nation address was in bad taste. He is setting governors against the public. This is unfair,” said a governor who declined to be named.

He continued: “We want to have a candid discussion with him. He is sending the wrong signals to Kenyans on this war on graft and accountability in counties...We welcome positive criticism, devolved units are still young and need to be nurtured.”

Mr Kiunjuri conveyed the President’s apologies for not attending the conference, saying the Cabinet retreat in Naivasha took longer than expected.

“The national government controls all the accountability agencies, including the Senate. We only have the county assemblies yet we are doing our best. The national government should deal with the wastage issue,” Mr Munya added.

He disputed the notion that funds sent to counties as per the Division of Revenue Act were national government funds.

“This is wrong. We pay taxes. The shareable revenue between the two levels of government is legitimate and should rightly go to counties. We should not be made to feel like someone is doing us a favour,” stated Munya.

The issue of the Sh1 billion collected by counties towards the conference also featured prominently with the Government downplaying the matter.

Munya set the record straight.

“I hear there is an illegal fund by CoG, resulting from contributions from counties. This is not true. CoG is a constitutional body mandated to co-ordinate county functions at the national level. We are in fact inadequately resourced and therefore lack capacity to carry out our statutory mandate,” said Munya.

Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro and chief guest Namibian Prime Minister Sarah Kuugogelwa Amadhila challenged the two levels of government to work together to make devolution a success.