Funds intended for schools diverted to private bank accounts
NAIROBI (TrustLaw) – The British government is demanding a refund of $78 million in aid to Kenya’s free primary education programme following revelations of massive corruption, the Daily Nation reported on Friday.
On Monday, the finance minister said $25 million was lost between 2005 and 2009 in the education ministry, roughly equivalent to 1 percent of the education budget in that period.
The World Bank, which was also funding the free primary education programme, has supported the UK government’s demand.
Top officials in the education ministry diverted funds intended for schools to private bank accounts, according to the Daily Nation. Accounting staff were unable to provide documents to justify at least 13 of 15 cheque payments selected, The Standard reported.
Education Minister Sam Ongeri and his permanent secretary James Ole Kiyiapi have refused to resign, saying they were not in the ministry when the scam was started.
East Africa's biggest economy loses up to 40 percent of its gross domestic product to graft annually, according to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission. No Kenyan minister has ever been convicted for corruption.
Funds are often stolen from the most vulnerable members of society. In addition to the education scam, investigations are also going on into the alleged theft of funds intended for health services and people living drought-stricken arid lands.
If returned, the Department for International Development plans to rechannel the money to schools through non-state channels.
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