Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi on Tuesday, May 5, called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to prioritise the appointment of an Auditor-General.
The country has lacked a substantive Auditor-General since the retirement of Edward Ouko in August 2019, with Ouko warning at the time that lack of a substantive successor would seriously compromise crucial audit work on public expenditure.
Mudavadi explained that the delay in appointing Ouko's replacement was down to powerful, corrupt individuals in government looking to escape accountability.
He called for the position to be filled as soon as possible, observing how graft could go unchecked at a time when public resources were at risk of being stolen under the guise of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Why do we take almost a year to replace the Auditor General? Why are we taking so long to do that? These are the institutions that matter, that help bring accountability.
"We are talking about the Ministry of Health, and by the way, there have been mega-scandals in the ministry but there are all these emergency programs like fighting Covid-19, floods, locusts are also around. It's like the elements are conspiring.
"Let me tell you, the emergency programs are going to be the reservoirs or incubators of mega-scandals. All these emergency programs are taking place and we are dilly-dallying when it comes to appointing an Auditor-General. These are critical areas and they must be dealt with," he stated.
Calling for rationalisation of expenditure among other measures to cushion the economy during Covid-19, Mudavadi maintained that it was important to strengthen institutions.
"When I talk about rationalizing expenditure, we need to do that by ensuring that our systems are good. A few days ago in a statement, I said that the war on corruption cannot go into quarantine.
"I think people don't want to be held to account, the mandarins of corruption do not want to be held to account and they may be delaying some of these processes (appointment of an Auditor-General).
"If there is an issue that involves public finance in court, I can tell you for free that the lawyers will be insisting to see verified accounts signed off by the auditor-general before the case can proceed. When this guy is not in office, 5 years from now is when you'll be following graft cases from today, we cannot live like that," he asserted.
Mudavadi also called for the government to look to restructure its debt portfolio, further calling for the formation of an independent Constitutional body mandated to tame the executive's appetite for foreign debt.
"Long term, I would strongly advocate for an independent authority guaranteed within a Constitutional arrangement to be able to moderate and make sure the appetite of government when it comes to borrowing," he noted.
He asserted that the proposal wasn't targeted at the Jubilee government but also administrations that came after it, stating it was meant for posterity.
To cushion the economy, Mudavadi proposed a raft of measures including the formation of a non-partisan team of experts to steer the economic recovery process.
He also called for greater attention to be paid to local tourism as the industry, one of Kenya's biggest foreign exchange earners, would continue to experience a slump.
Mudavadi also called for the government to focus on innovation and local manufacturing to help the government navigate a global economy thrown into disarray by the pandemic.
Watch part of Mudavadi's interview below:
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