July 21, 2004

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has announced the creation of a national committee to fight corruption. The move follows a decision by the European Union to withhold aid to Kenya because of corruption concerns.

Last week, the British high commissioner accused some members of the Kenyan government of devouring money like gluttons.

The chairman of the new Kenyan watchdog said the president must take action against corrupt officials.

“One action from you is more than a thousand posters from us,” Mutava Musyimi of the National Anti-Corruption Steering Committee said at a press conference in Nairobi on Wednesday.

‘Disappointed’

The main task of the body is educate Kenyans about the need to fight corruption.

The president acknowledged that fighting corruption was difficult because people may have to make sure their friends are not stealing.

Mr Kibaki won a landslide victory in the December 2002 elections with a pledge to fight widespread corruption.

He has come in for criticism from the international community for his government’s record on the issue.

In the latest attack, the EU said in a letter to the Kenyan government on Wednesday that it was especially disappointed by the way the government was handling a passport tender affair.

According to the BBC’s Caroline Karobia in Nairobi, a shadowy company won the tender to supply new secure passports, but the owners of the company have never been traced.

The EU had promised vital funding for the country’s dilapidated infrastructure, and to help to bridge a huge budget deficit.