Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) leader Raila Odinga has accused the government of lack of political goodwill to fight corruption as the country continues to lose billions of shillings because of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs).
Speaking at a conference bringing together Public Accounts Committees in Africa, he also accused the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Public Investments Committee for doing very little to push the government to account for taxpayers’ money.
“Kenyans should not expect the government to oversight itself when public watchdog committees are full of Members of Parliament that are apologists,” he said.
The former premier said Kenyans must know that the government cannot address corruption since most of her officers are responsible for the ongoing massive theft of public resources.
“The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has regularly exposed financial irregularities, including mega corruption, even during the single party rule but there is no political goodwill to implement recommendations,” he said.
According to the Tax Justice Network, Africa loses more than US$50 billion (Sh5 trillion) per year though corrupt deals. It is expected to double the official development assistance that Africa receives.
Addressing the same forum, a member of South African PAC, Nthabiseng Khunou said Africa cannot claim sovereignty if it has failed to take responsibility of her accountability processes. “We have to be responsible for the people who elect us to political positions. We have to make legislations that respond to the electorate’s needs,” she said.
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