Macharia Gaitho
26 June 2003
Nairobi — Kenya risks losing Sh12.7 billion aid for the fight against Aids unless the council spearheading the campaign is investigated for corruption.
Donors want the National Aids Control Council probed or the country would lose a $170 million from the United States, through Global Fund Against Aids, TB and malaria.
But in a surprising dilemma, another leading donor, the World Bank, has threatened to cut its funding for the Aids fight, if the Health ministry does not stop raising questions about corruption at the council.
The World Bank is normally at the forefront of the fight against corruption and a year ago stopped a major infrastructure programme, the Kenya Urban Transport Infrastructure Programme, when a graft scandal, involving some of its staff, was unearthed.
The World Bank is the NACC's leading donor, and is providing almost Sh4 billion over a five-year period.
The aid withdrawal threats come at a time when Aids is killing an estimated 700 Kenyans a day and costing the economy upwards of Sh500 million a month in diversion of resources to care for the sick, lost labour, among others.
Out of the Sh12.7 billion which the Global Fund agreed to give Kenya in February, but which is being withheld "pending clarifications", the lion's share - Sh9.6 billion - is to go to the Aids campaign.
The Government has already been warned that the offer would be withdrawn unless it starts to take serious issues relating to financial impropriety at the Aids council.
The warning was conveyed to Finance minister David Mwiraria by the Global Fund's local representative, Mr Jerry van Mourick, at a June 13 meeting.
Four days later on June 17, a meeting was convened at the Treasury to discuss Mr Mourick's concerns.
It was chaired by Mr Jackson Kinyanjui, the World Bank desk officer at the Finance ministry, who pointed out that "the Global Fund was categorical that it would discontinue assistance to Kenya if the concerns were not addressed".
NACC director Margaret Gachara was at the meeting, with the deputy director of finance and administration, Mr Mathew Chepkwony, and public sector manager Joshua Ng'elu.
Also present was the head of standards and regulatory services at the Health ministry, Dr Tom Mboya Okeyo, deputy World Bank desk officer at the Treasury D.M. Maina and two officials from audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, the local fund managers for NACC donor funding, Mr Alphan Njeru and Mr Amos Njaramba.
The meeting agreed that an independent assessment of the operations of the NACC be conducted.
The issues to be looked at, however, were to be prepared and taken to the World Bank for approval.
Among them were queries on how money for the World Aids Day activities for 2001 was spent and which allegedly led to the loss of about Sh19 million.
Also to be investigated was the way money was being disbursed to NGOs and Community Based Organisations.
Auditors, after looking at the NACC's 2002 accounts, have raised the Sh19 million matter and it has been referred to the Anti-Corruption Police Unit.
The Aids council is also at the heart of a tussle between the ministry of Health and the Office of the President.
Whereas Health minister Charity Ngilu wants the council transferred to her ministry, OP has the support of World Bank in maintaining that it should remain where it is.
World Bank lead health specialist in Kenya Bert Voetberg made the extraordinary threat that further funding would be endangered if the Health ministry continued to raise questions about corruption at NACC at a meeting with the head of the Civil Service, Mr Francis Muthaura, on May 6.
A confidential brief from Mr Muthaura, which was distributed to nearly 30 ministers and permanent secretaries, read as follows on Mr Voetberg's concerns: "Recent statements from the Government (Ministry of Health) about corruption at the institution (NACC) would damage the credibility of the institution.
"Mr Voetberg informed me that he had recently succeeded in securing a US $70 million grant for Tanzania. It would be difficult to present a strong and credible case for similar assistance to Kenya under the current circumstances."
Neither Mr Voetberg nor the World Bank country director to Kenya, Mr Makhtar Diop, were available for comment.
At the meeting, Mr Muthaura told the World Bank official that the Government had adopted a zero-tolerance approach to corruption. "Rather than silence the critics, the Government had commissioned the Efficiency Monitoring Unit to investigate the allegations."
Others at the meeting were Dr Gachara, the permanent secretary for provincial administration and internal security, Mr Dave Mwangi, and the principal administrative secretary at the OP, Mr Hyslop Ipu.
According to sources, the Efficiency Monitoring Unit is yet to start investigations. But the Anti-Corruption Police Unit is already investigating specific complaints.
Recently, some four NACC staffers, including Mr Cheruiyot, a finance manager, an accounts clerk and a procurement-stores officer, were interrogated and recorded statements.
In a meeting with the Nation yesterday, three top NACC officials, chairman Prof Miriam Were, deputy director, technical, Dr Patrick Orege and Mr Cheruiyot (Dr Gachara was out of the country) responded to some of the queries raised.
While conceding that there were audit queries and and various investigations, Mr Cheruiyot denied emphatically that there was any mismanagement or financial impropriety at NACC.
He said that at the June 17 meeting, he explained everything to the satisfaction of all concerned, including the ministry of Health and the Global Fund.
He also pointed out that if there had been any fishy deals, the World Bank, which keeps a close watch on NACC accounts before disbursing any money, would have suspended funding.
But it emerged that Prof Were was not too comfortable with some of the goings on. She, for example, expressed surprise that the June 17 meeting was called to discuss alleged financial misdeeds at the council. She had been led to believe it was a meeting to discuss routine funding issues.
Prof Were said that when she joined NACC in March, she was concerned about the allegations in the Press and public meetings, but decided to first study the situation before commenting publicly.
Three months later, she is yet to comment. Does this mean she is not satisfied everything is above board? Investigations by various agencies are still in progress, she said.
Prof Were, however, defended retention of NACC at the Office of the President, saying it showed the Government's seriousness in fighting the scourge. She also defended it against accusations that it had achieved nothing.
Additional reporting by Mike Mwaniki
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