Auditor General Nancy Gathungu on Tuesday, February 21 pleaded with corrupt individuals to invest their loot back into the country.
According to Gathungu, money stolen should be ploughed back into the economy from which the proceeds were taken.
“Perhaps we should start a campaign that says if you steal it and you are able to get away with it, invest it in the country where it is stolen. If you steal it from Kenyans, invest it in Kenya," she declared.
"It sounds very strange, but perhaps we could then see development taking place in our country and then later we ask the question, where did you get it from?” she added.
Gathungu made her remarks during the launch of Transparency International (TI) Kenya's 2022/2028 strategic plan.
Her statement came on the backdrop of Kenya trying to combat corruption in public service while grappling with a 2022 dossier of how influential politicians stashed money in the Cayman Islands.
"If there was no safe space to hide, to stash or to invest and thereby giving legitimacy for laundry services to illicit financial flows, where would this illegally acquired and stolen money be kept?” she argued.
Additionally, Gathungu revealed that as Auditor Generals from the African continent, they had resolved to carry out joint and coordinated audits to seal corruption loopholes.
Equally, the Auditor General was of the view that a lot still needed to be done to ensure that only programmes and projects that are citizen-centred are budgeted for, as opposed to budgeting for graft.
“Corruption and lack of accountability have negatively affected our progress towards the attainment of our national development plan,
Kenya's blueprint and development, Vision 2030 and more so the prioritized critical areas that speak to the very lives and livelihoods of the citizens.” she opined.
She lauded Transparency International for its cordial working relationship with her office for the greater good of the country.
