Kenya har været samarbejdsland for dansk bistand i årtier – og i alle årene har korruption gennemsyret samfundet og skabt problemer for den danske indsats, som dog ikke desto mindre flere steder har nået konkrete resultater
NAIROBI, 3rd December 2010: Corruption has long plagued Kenyan politics, causing widespread public anger. Now, the Kenyan government has said it could be losing nearly one-third of the national budget to corruption, BBC online reports Friday
Finance ministry officials told a parliamentary committee the losses could be nearly 4 billion US dollar (ca. 21 milliarder DKR) a year. They said individuals were taking huge sums meant for development projects.
Analysts say many Kenyans will be surprised not by the news of the losses, but by the fact the admission has come from such senior officials.
Kitu kidogo – the Swahili for “some-thing small” – is how the kickbacks are commonly described in Kenya.
Taking 10 per cent of an awarded tender (firma, der får en ordre o. lign.) or inflating project costs are said to be the commonest means of dipping into government coffers.
Corruption has been the Achilles heel of successive Kenyan regimes. But the efforts of the country’s newly-appointed anti-corruption commissioner – who now has the power to prosecute individuals – are causing ripples in government quarters.
Tilføjelse u-landsnyt:
En af Afrikas største organiserede svindel-sager nogensinde, den såkaldte Goldenberg-affære, involverede hundreder af millioner kroner, men fik ikke dybtgående politiske konsekvenser i Nairobi.
Flere korruptionsbekæmpere i Kenya har gennem tiden opgivet ævred efter meget håndfaste trusler og er gået i eksil i udlandet.
Kenyas dav. udenrigsminister Robert Ouko blev myrdet i februar 1990, angiveligt fordi han under præsident Daniel arap Mois styre ville afsløre omfanget af korruptionen og hvor langt op i toppen, den strakte sig. Mordet er aldrig opklaret.
