The Jubilee administration is facing increasing pressure over corruption allegedly taking root at high levels and influencing tenders worth billions of shillings.
The latest salvo was fired Sunday when Uongozi, an advocacy group associated with the former anti-corruption czar John Githongo, wrote an open letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta asking him to suspend the Sh 425 billion Mombasa-Malaba railway project until all questions that have been raised over the tender are answered.
“We write to you as patriot citizens in good faith, to share our deepening concerns regarding a number of issues which in our humble view threaten the soul of our belovednation,” the group said in the letter signed by Mr Githongo, Dr PLO Lumumba and Mr Tom Mboya.
“We have reached a critical tipping point hence our decision to address you... Given the whiff of irregularity, it is our submissions that it would be prudent to immediately terminate the current process and begin a transparent process afresh, so as to ensure efficiency and value for money.”
On Sunday, the spokesman for the Presidency, Mr Manoah Esipisu, said Mr Kenyatta was committed to the fight against corruption.
Earlier, the Consumer Federations of Kenya warned that the rising number of corruption cases could make the cost of living too high for Kenyans as cartels will block the flow of cheaper services to the public.
Since May, questions have been raised on some of the government’s investment and expenditure decisions. Among the most prominent was the controversial hiring of a luxury jet for the Deputy President, the airport expansion project, repair works on the Deputy President’s official house in Karen and the multi-billion-shilling railway tender.
This month, the controversial Tassia NSSF project has come to light after Mr Francis Atwoli, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions secretary-general called it “the scandal of the year” for supposedly going forward without a formal board approval.
Mr Atwoli, who has since written to the Ombudsman to complain about the project, said every participant in the scandal should be punished regardless of status.
Last week, Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi suspended the Sh 5.053 billion housing venture to allow time to address Cotu’s complaints.
The renewed focus on corruption comes just a day after key Jubilee coalition figures led by National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale andSenate Majority leader Kithure Kindiki gave President Kenyatta an ultimatum to expose corruption cartels tainting his administration.
Adapted from Daily Nation
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