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U.S. Happy With Anti-Graft War

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Published on Tuesday, 03 July 2007 04:33
The American government is happy with Kenya's progress in the fight against corruption, US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger has said.Mr Ranneberger said the establishment of corruption prevention committees in various public institutions was a positive step, but appealed to the Government to be more aggressive.

"For instance, the procurement system in the Government is quite transparent these days and the US government is indeed happy, but there are still many pockets of corruption that the Government needs to deal with urgently," he said.

The ambassador spoke a day after the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission chief executive, Mr Justice Aaron Ringera, accused the Government of slowing down the fight against corruption in the country.Speaking in Kisumu at the weekend, Mr Justice Ringera said the office of the Attorney-General and the Ministry of Justice had totally refused to grant the commission powers to prosecute those implicated in corruption.

However, the ambassador refused to comment on the matter saying he was yet to be briefed on the same.Mr Ranneberger, at the same time, appealed to Kenyans to keep off tribal politics ahead of the forthcoming General Election.He said it was unfortunate that the Kenyan democracy was still riddled with tribalism adding that this negated the gains the country had achieved since independence.

Speaking in Homa Bay District after touring an American-sponsored agricultural project, Mr Ranneberger urged Kenyans to vote for visionary leaders during the December elections.At a separate event, Mr Ranneberger said the travel advisories imposed by the US government on their citizens travelling to Kenya has not affected the flow of American tourists into the country.

The envoy said the advisories were only meant to advise their citizens to be careful once in the country.He was speaking at Menyinkwa area in Kisii where he commissioned a water project supported by the American people.