E-Clips:- Business Pictorial - Britain To Take Action Over Saitoti, Kiraitu Appointment To Cabinet

The reappointment of a former Vice-president George Saitoti and Kiraitu Murungi to the Kenyan Cabinet has provoked a sharp reaction in Britain, with the government saying it will now reconsider its future funding to the country.

At the time of going to press, the Foreign Office had issued a notice saying that the government would consider "much more rigorous action."

UK's minister Kim Howells has also warned that other Kenyan ministers may be denied visas to come to Britain if it is considered likely that they have been in-. volved in corrupt activities. The Financial Times newspaper said that the Cabinet appointments were "politically motivated" and that Mr Saitoti's return in particular is because he is believed "to be able to mobilise large financial resources."

The paper added that businesses now believed that corruption was "endemic" in Kenya but that it was now clear that President Mwai Kibaki would not prosecute his supporters in government. "No top officials have been prosecuted," the paper said. "The two ministers' re-appointment has reinforced views that the government's claimed fight against corruption is over."

The UK has been watching to see whether any senior officials within the ruling party will be prosecuted over corrupt dealings and has now clearly decided that enough time has passed for action to be taken.

Mr Howells told the Radio 4 Today programme that ''very little had been done" on the issue of corruption "and that is the most disappointing thing of all.

"I think all of us were hoping for great things (from the Narc) government but there doesn't seem to be much joined up thinking between (government) offices."

The British government also views corruption as endemic in Kenya and Mr Howells said that too many people "can be bought."

But the most damning indictment of all came in the current (Nov 17-24) Economist magazine which said "There are few people left, even in Kenya, who dispute the fact that the country is one of the most corrupt in the world.

"Corruption at the highest levels provides cover for. stealing down the line. Some of the proceeds go on political campaigns: rallies, paying off tribal elders, gangs to intimidate opposition supporters and sometimes the voters themselves."

The international London- based business magazine said that what is most galling about Mwai Kibaki's government, unlike that of former President Daniel arap Moi, was that it was specifically elected on an anti-corruption ticket "but has done little to fulfil its promises.

"From the start, it borrowed money from many of the same individuals as the previous regime, and set about paying off debts with similar dodgy schemes." The key to Britain's mounting criticism over corruption within government circles in Kenya is the failure to act on evidence which has been collected, the UK Foreign Office says.

As the war of words between London and Nairobi escalates, Foreign Office minister Kim Howells pointed to the failure to act on the dossier that had already been presented to Attorney General Amos Wako containing detailed evidence of corruption in high places, as the key to British concerns.

"We are very worried about the fact that there appears to be a lot of evidence that has already been taken to the Attorney General's office and nothing has been done about it.

"It is about tax evasion and money laundering and if institutions like this at the heart of the financial life of Kenya prove to be corrupt then it's got the most dreadful implications for the whole of the (Kenyan) nation."

Mr Howells readily acknowledged that there may be a British connection in the matter and his latest statement promised that action would be taken against any UK firms if evidence was presented. "We will want to see any evidence that British firms are involved and that will be properly investigated and if charges are to be brought, they will be brought."

But Mr Howells also warned that the UK would not shy away from taking difficult decisions to ban other senior Kenyan government officials or ministers if it had evidence they were involved in corrupt activities. The UK is also likely to confine its aid to ever more strictly audited projects in future.

Mr Howells' robust and frank statement reflects the fact that over the past five years, the British government has quietly changed tack with regard to the issue of corruption in Kenya. Gone are the days when "quiet diplomacy" was seen as the only way of doing business with Nairobi.

During President Moi's period in office - particularly during the tense political years of the early 1990s - it would have been unheard of for a British minister or High Commissioner to issue such a public condemnation of corruption.

Representations were made by a quiet word in the ear and occasionally - when events were seen as particularly troubling - a mild rebuke might have been made by a British High Commissioner or a visiting minister. But London clearly feels that quiet diplomacy has largely had its day.

Highly critical statements on corruption in particular are almost the norm now from UK High Commissioners and British ministers.