Deputy speaker Maalim Mohammed has ordered a Parliamentary committee to probe an agreement signed in 1962 between the government and an Italian company San Marco Space Centre, whereby Kenya is allegedly getting a raw deal while the Italians rake in millions in profit.
This revelation in Parliament is unbelievable to many Kenyans who wonder where the government has been for all these years when resources were being exploited.
More importantly, what’s the role of the Attorney General’s office when it has been established that the agreement signed was lopsided and deliberately executed to benefit the Italians at the expense of Kenyan interests.
How many more such poorly executed government agreements exist where some selfish unpatriotic government officials signed on behalf of the government but the country in general does not benefit that have not been brought to the public limelight?
From the look of things, this might just be a tip of the iceberg. More under-the-table agreements may be shielded from the public by some myopic government officials.
Subsequently, this therefore calls for a comprehensive, thorough evaluation and audit of all government agreements that have been entered and signed with foreign governments and companies with the core objective of verifying whether they conform to the Constitution and the interests of the nation are taken care off so as to pre-empt misuse of the country’s resources.
Patriotism
It’s also now becoming increasingly clear that most government officials do not have the interests of Kenyans at heart. As s a result, the government should develop effective mechanisms of vetting employees for patriotism, enthusiasm, nationalism and if possible passion when recruiting.
Parliamentary committee to investigate this massive and shameful scandal going on since independence and bring the architects of this scandal to justice. But the capacity and ability to undertake this highly complex and technical subject should be addressed first.
This is important so that the scarce taxpayers money are not wasted. Measures should be put in place to insulate this committee from any foreigners who are definitely going to aggressively fight back to defend the status quo.
Also, politics should be kept off from this crucial issue of national importance and Kenyans should be vigilant and extremely alert to ensure that once the findings of this probe are taken to Parliament, the reports is not ‘killed’ like other previous parliamentary reports.
Enock Onsando, Mombasa
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