President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed the country’s investigative agencies to accelerate investigations into the use of COVID-19 funds, to be finalised in three weeks.
Vowing that no one will be spared, the president said his government was committed to accountabilty of public funds.
“I am today directing investigative agencies seized with this matter to finalise it in 21 days,” the president said in an address from State House.
And he warned, “no one will be spared.”
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is investigating the loss of more than Sh7 billion for COVID-19 funds in contracts issued by the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) whose CEO Jonah Manjari and three other senior officials were suspended.
The president’s directive ends raging debate ignited by the Orange Democratic Party (ODM) and its leader Raila Odinga, who wants an audit conducted before an investigation of the allegations on the missapropriation of funds at KEMSA.
In 6 months battling the disease, the President on Wednesday said, the infection rate has dropped significantly from a high of 13 percent to 8 percent in August.
“This is very encouraging and it means if we keep our civic responsibility high, we have a chance to reach the 5 per cent positivity rate recommended by the World Health Organisation for a total reopening our economy and country,” the President said in a televised address from State House, Nairobi.
Even with the gains, the President cautioned against dropping the guard since the disease still poses a threat to Kenyans.
Since Tuesday, he said, 213 positive cases have been detected raising the country’s caseload to 33,016.
