E-Clips:- Business Pictorial - We Are Losing In Danger Of Losing War On Graft

Despite VP Moody Aworis defence of the shs2.7billion passports tender in parliament yesterday, the fact that all is not well with the Countrys public procurement system is not in doubt. It is almost incomprehensible that the government could defend, a decision, where a project that would have cost about Shs 800 million cost an inflated Shs 2.7 billion and what is more, the contract is awarded to a new company, from the ones that had initially qualified for the award, without going through the tendering process.

And as we, reported yesterday, the government could have lost an almost similar amount in ,another tender for the supply of finger printing machines and handcuffs, which was also awarded through single sourcing and which cost the government Shs 2.8 billion instead of Shs 750 million had it been subjected to open tendering: The National Rainbow Coalition government rode to power with a pledge to arrest official corruption that in the past regime Cost the countrys economy colossal amounts of dearly needed resources.

The appointment of a commission of inquiry, chaired by appellate Judge Samuel Bosire; to investigate the Goldenberg scam, through which the country lost billions of shillings in fictitious gold and diamond export compensation, was hailed as it. signal that Kibakis administration was serious in dealing with the problem corruption. "

Viewed in the same vein, even internationally, was the appointment of the reputable John Githongo as the governments anti-graft czar. Then followed a series capacity building measures and enactment of anti-graft legislation, such as the Public Officer Ethics Act and the Corruption and Economic, Crimes Act, the result, of which was the return of donor confidence in the new administration as indicated by the myriad pledges in loans and grants that the country has received over the past one year.

" Even in the face of all these measures, however, crooks have still managed to, penetrate the systems to partake of the public coffers with ,almost similar ease as was the case in the most maligned Moi regime. The, greatest cause of this, in our view, was the misadvised move to send packing all of the government s procurement staff.

However good intentioned the decision by finance minister David Mwiraria was, its imprudence is not in doubt as the results are of course there for all to see. It created a vacuum that is yet to be filled and thus handed, ammunition to those intent on making a killing at every opportunity to do so with unbelievable effortlessness. This is an issue that the government must now address if it still intends to stamp out corruption in official circles.

For unless the public procurement system is strengthened and the loopholes that "cowboy" brokers are now using to siphon public funds sealed, the war on graft is as well as lost.