The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission warning on Covid-19 funds use was spot on.
All government departments and counties handling cash allocated for fighting coronavirus must be held accountable. Loopholes for looting and pilferage of funds must be sealed. Expenditures have to be prioritised and justified.
Public resources are usually plundered and misused during crises, like now. Controls are relaxed and often the crafty lot capitalises on the urgency of such moments to fleece the public of money.
Whatever is spent is hardly accounted for. The default response is that the resources were used to deal with the adversity. So much money is disbursed, but does not serve the purpose.
Thus far, the government is pushing hard to raise cash to deal with the contagion. Last week, it tabled a supplementary budget before Parliament, seeking approval of some Sh40.9 billion to manage the emergency.
Also, the Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund Board has been mobilising resources and has already raised Sh1.3 billion.
According to government’s plan, the cash is to cater for medical requirement that includes testing and treatment of patients as well as provision of personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other needs for the health workers. Besides, the cash caters for security, logistical operations and other support activities as well as the counties.
Counties have allocated cash from their budgets to deal with the pandemic. Cumulatively, therefore, there is a lot of money being raised to deal with the plague. If properly used, there can be a difference in the campaign against this veritable challenge.
What is of concern, however, is that the cash is likely to be stolen and misused. Officials at the national and county governments are likely to raid the coffers to benefit themselves from the cash.
Queries have been raised about the procurement processes, quality of materials being bought, and costs.
Most officials in national and county governments have the propensity to inflate prices or circumvent the established procedures to get their way.
Already, there is a case in Bungoma where the county government spent Sh10,000 on water jerrycans, which cost Sh1,000 at most; an outrageous demonstration of theft of public resources.
In Nyeri, Governor Karega Mutahi repackaged donated sanitisers into bottles emblazoned with his pictures.
This makes strict checks and monitoring vital. EACC and other investigative agencies have to scrutinise processes, expenditures and controls in place at all levels of government.
