Civil society groups accuse global lenders of ignoring graft

L-R: Wanjiru Gikonyo, National Coordinator TISA- Kenya, Jason Braganza, Executive Director AFRODAD, Sheila Masinde, Executive Director TISA- Kenya and Dr. Abraham Rugo, Country Manager IBP Kenya consult each other during the editor's roundtable on the Okoa Uchumi Campaign yesterday. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

Some civil society groups have faulted international financing institutions for continually lending money to Kenya despite evidence that a chunk of it is lost through corruption.

Led by The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA-Kenya), the lobbies say Kenyans should not be compelled to bear the burden of paying for "budgeted corruption."

Other lobbies supporting the initiative under the banner of the Okoa Uchumi campaign are Transparency International, International Budget Partnership and Africa Forum Network on Debt and Development (Afrodad).

They also argued that it is not fair to Kenyans to be compelled to service debts for projects whose contracts are not made public.

The projects, they said, include Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) built at a cost of more than Sh300 billion from borrowed funds from China.

TISA-Kenya National Coordinator Ms Wanjiru Gikonyo said during a forum with the Kenya Editors Guild in Nairobi said international finance institutions like the International Finance Corporation(IFC), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) play an enabling role in corruption to thrive in the country.

"They speak well, but they do not address the issue of budgetary corruption,” said Ms Gikonyo.