The World Bank is willing to assist Kenya recover assets abroad that were acquired through money obtained through corruption, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz told Finance Minister Amos Kimunya, according to the Kenyan daily “The Daily Nation” Sunday.
Wolfowitz asked Kenya to accelerate reforms in governance although he said the country had made some progress. A statement from the Ministry of Finance said, ‘Wolfowitz expressed the Banks willingness to support the Kenya government to recover assets that were obtained through corrupt practices”.
It is estimated that about 70 billion shillings (ca. 6 milliarder DKR) acquired irregularly has been stashed in foreign banks.
In Washington, Kimunya praised the World Bank, and in particular Wolfowitz, for the commitment to fight corruption. He said the government was fighting corruption and wanted to strengthen its relations with the Bretton Woods institutions.
The minister met executive directors of the boards of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, including United Kingdom, France, Japan, Brazil, Nordic and Canada among others.
He shared with them the progress the country was making in implementing the economic and governance reform program and the problems it was encountering. The World Bank, like the IMF and the European Commission, said it would help the country deal with the drought situation.
The commission was ready to assist with immediate food requirements and in long term measures to address food insecurity in the country. This was after Kimunya told the World Bank President how the government was diverting resources from other sectors to help alleviate the suffering of 3,5 million Kenyans.
IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato also said his institution will assist Kenya in the event of a balance of payments need.
“The IMF Managing Director agreed to send an IMF review mission to Nairobi in late April-early May with a view to reaching an agreement on a letter of intent by mid May and agreeing on an economic reform program for the financial year 2006-07”, the statement said.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
