Calls for Kenyan public procurement system to be overhauled

It is too early to tell what the verdict of  Kenyan MPs will be over the scathing recommendations of the parliamentary investigation into property acquisitions abroad by the ministry of Foreign Affairs according to the Editorial in Kenya’s largest newspaper, the Daily Nation.  One expected conclusion from the Defence and Relations Committee report. Is the system of procurement and disposal of public assets in government is significantly flawed and that this system costs taxpayers billions of shillings each year.

The Editorial states that there can be no doubt that the deals outlined in the report resulted in loss of public revenue. Properties such as the embassy plot in Lagos were grossly undervalued. Other assets such as those in Tokyo need not have been purchased, according to all available evidence. The onus is on Parliament to decide whether these lapses were committed by bungling officials or whether they were calculated frauds perpetrated to cheat the taxpayer. From the public discourse in the last few days, it is clear public opinion leans towards the conclusion that corruption was the likely explanation.

Whichever way the debate goes, it is imperative that policy makers and MPs push to overhaul the public procurement system the Editorial concludes.

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