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Tom Aosa (centre) is the President of the National CBO Council.

Kenya

Aosa says cartels must be fought to win graft war

NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 14 – The National Community Based Organization Council (NCBO) says the war against corruption will never be won unless cartels are eliminated from government ministries, departments and parastatals.

The Council’s President Tom Aosa said most ministries, including Health under which the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) falls, is full of cartels who are always plotting how to siphon out public funds.

And indeed, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, in one of his past press conferences said there were cartels in the ministry who were frustrating reforms, and vowed to take action.

On Tuesday, Aosa said as much as the government tries to fight corruption, deep-rooted cartels in ministries must be identified for prompt action.

“There is no way the government will win this war without identifying these cartels,” Aosa told a news conference at Serena Hotel, “these cartels are the ones frustrating government efforts to fight corruption.”

He said every time Cabinet Secretaries are appointed to ministries, they vow to eliminate corruption yet no concrete action ever taken.

“Just look at all the ministries, not just health,” he said, “we have hard hitting statements from Ministers as soon as they are appointed but the situation remains the same until they leave and this is blamed on deep-rooted cartels.

Investigative agencies in the country are undertaking investigations in various government ministries and departments, including at KEMSA.

“Clearly, corruption continues to evolve and reinvent itself after every election,” he said on Tuesday during a media briefing even as he faulted the current regime for reneging on its mandate to tame the vice.

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“Parliament, the Senate and the Jubilee government has made no effort to evolve the legal framework to target influence peddlers who continue to hold the system hostage and trade in tenders,” he said.

While citing the alleged scandal at KEMSA, Aosa lamented that the war against corruption has over the years largely been politicised due to the involvement of cartels.

“We reiterated that public service is a sacred vocation and not an opportunity to reap where one has not sown. We must remove corrupt deals as the incentive for public office. We are going to propose a Bill that will ensure that in 2022, we will not get leaders who seek self-enrichment but leaders who are genuine servants of the people,” he noted.

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