Thursday, January 10, 2008

Leaked World Bank Memo About Kibaki Shocks World Community

Even as the peace efforts in Nairobi, now being led by current AU chair and president of Ghana John Kufuor got under way in earnest yesterday, the Financial Times of London has released a shocking story involving a leaked memo by the World Bank Kenya country director Colin Bruce.

The confidential memo has raised concerns amongst senior World Bank officials that the Washington-based lender’s assessment of the Kenya government and especially president Kibaki’s administration may have been compromised by too close a relationship between Mr Bruce and Kibaki. It has even been mentioned that Mr Bruce lives in a house owned by the Kibaki family which raises conflict of interest possibilities.

The memo allegedly gave false information claiming that it was the considered view of the UN that the ECK announced Kibaki win was correct. The UN immediately denied this and observers were puzzled over the fact that virtually every election observer had given the verdict that the just concluded presidential elections were fatally flawed. So why was Mr Bruce so determined to paint a different picture?

It has been lost on many observers that Mwai Kibaki’s contacts in the World Bank are excellent because he has known many people in the organization for years dating back from the days he was a finance minister in President Kenyatta’s administration.

This is probably one reason why a government that some feel is much more corrupt that even the Moi regime has enjoyed relatively good rapport with the World Bank and has continued to receive hefty funds even after such huge scandals as Anglo Leasing were brought to light. It would seem that the World Bank has just ignored the corruption and pressed on with giving Kenya a lot of finances.

Even more interesting is the fact that Mr Bruce seems determined that the World Bank should ignore the current crisis and continue dealing with a government that has just named individuals who have been linked to major corruption scandals like Kiraitu Murungi and George Saitoti. Both have been “cleared” by Kibaki friendly institutions. This is rather ludicrous because for instance George Saitoti’s name featured prominently in a leaked Kroll report. Anybody who read that report will cringe at this man being allowed anywhere near public funds or a position where he can do some of “the deals” portrayed in the damning Kroll report.

Read Financial Times article released in today’s edition of the newspaper.

It is instructive that Kibaki’s naming of his partial cabinet shows that he has already reneged on major promises he gave in the run up to the election. Kibaki had vowed that he would have a “clean hands cabinet” and one with youths and more women. This has clearly not happened. But even worse is the fact that 7 of the 17 ministers named so far are from the Mount Kenya region.

Clearly Kenyans are dealing with a man who never means what he says and the general feeling is that there is shock countrywide as Kenyans get to learn more and more about somebody they thought they knew well.

P.S. Even more insensitive was the move to appoint a Kikuyu (George Saitoti) to the position of Minister in charge of Internal security where he will have to take the lead of hunting down perpetrators of the violence which are mostly other tribes against members of his Kikuyu tribe. It will be virtually impossible in the circumstances for him to look impartial.

15 comments:

  1. Chris, It is an open secret that some influential donors are urging that a status quo be maintained, ie Kibaki continues to be president of Kenya.

    One of them is Bruce Collins – World Bank Country Director.

    Bruce Collins is rumoured to have communicated to other African Union World Bank Reps to convey his endorsement of the Kibaki regime, something which Kibaki's numerous envoys are exploiting as they visit foreign heads of state. The facts are that;-

    1. The World Bank representative Bruce Collins is supporting the PNU side (partisan politics against international diplomatic conventions).

    2.During his term in Kenya the serious corruption (Anglo Leasing) cases came up and he looked the other way. he has never commented on Githongo tapes!

    3.He is Ringera’s personal friend and KACA is as guilty as ECK in terms what is going on in Kenya right now.


    4. He resides in Kibaki’s house in Muthaiga and Joe Wanjui - Chairman of the Athuris - is also the World Bank's commercial landlord in Nairobi UpperHill area.

    5. Bruce Collins has discredited the EU elections report, as shown on the memo you talk about in your post! The world bank did not have any observers on the ground during the elections!

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  2. Pure crap! You just run around the world looking for the 'negatives' for Kenya. Do you think that everyboby will be happy when Kenya(s) prosper? The west(UK & US) in Particular would not like Kibaki Administration becouse he does not bootlick them. But Alas! Kibaki is an economist, he has good rapport with the East (China and Middle East). That alone makes him a target for the West.
    In year 2000, George Bush won the US elections in a controversial way! He has gone forth to rule for two terms despite the hardline stands like the Iraq invasion! It's time for them to shut-up as Kenya is nobody's colony.
    We are independent and therefore able to rule ourselves. The rest should be ignored and termed as sideshows!

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  3. I've just received the ODM electoral fraud report via E-mail and the rigging is even more blatant than I and I'm sure lots of other Kenyans would have thought. Even those with blind support for PNU will have to think twice after reading this report. It is just shocking beyond words. I'd like to urge all Kenyans to take heart. The truth is strong and will set us free.

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  4. Wanjiku. Please post the report.

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  5. ODM report at http://www.marsgroupkenya.org/pdfs/2008/jan_08/ODM_Report_On_Eck_fraud.pdf

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  6. This is the time for true Kenyans to stand up and defend their land.
    I watched the NTV special show yesternight, 8-9 pm, and was encouraged that there are several true Kenyans that come from Central Province and are against the dictator Kibaki regime.
    They called for all Kenyans, especially the Central Kenya youth to come out openly and demand an end to the madness being perpetuated by a few rich Kenyans, in the name of their community.
    If anyone could post parts of the programme, it would help enlighten the country.

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  7. As the rest of the world forms huge blocks of economic, political and military survival, tribal chiefs tell us our future lies in fragmentation of Kenya into smaller states. How pathetic are Kenyans? Shame shame

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  8. Kikuyus have really disappointed this country. Period.

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  9. Y'all make me laugh. All of you have good intentions but they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
    How many of you voted for a better life... I repeat a better life and not a better president etc. Think about that for a second. A better life means that you become pragmatic. You do a cost-benefit analysis of all your actions. That's the way politicians think and if you don't think like that you are missing the point of life... make it better.
    The most useful thing anyone can do right now is to plug the holes in ECK, in political parties. All I'm saying is fighting some wars do not make sense because the victory is pyrrhic. choose your battles carefully, set long term objectives and strive to meet them.
    The logic is democracy cannot be achieved without peace. The nature and character of democracy is often misunderstood. For Democracy to flourish, the population must be made aware of the concept of dictatorship... this includes autocratic/ authoritarian dictatorship (dictatorship of the minority) as well as dictatorship of the majority... this is tied with the concept of inalienable rights also known as God-given rights. This rights can only be protected in times of peace.If you understand this then you will also understand that to achieve democracy will take time. Even the US is a work in progress. This impatience Kenyans have on equity and equal distribution of resources, get rich quick schemes as well as perfect democracy points to intellectual dishonesty, and an impatience inspired by intellectual laziness. Again, think about it.
    Like all other nations, Kenya is a nation of aggregates. We can only develop as far as the average Kenyan can push Kenya. Are we really that developed?
    There's a saying in Finance, if your expectations are high, disppointment is a given.

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  10. mzalendo, it is obvious that Dick Morris did not teach ODM how to mathematically tell lies.

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  11. The guy who has been posting wrong Presidential Election results for O.D.M. zones here is an idiot to say the least. I looked up the figures in the E.C.K. website and this is what Raila's results in these constituencies were;

    Bondo - 53,202 (62,349 registered voters) - 85% AND NOT 102%

    Rangwe - 64,458 (73,611 registered voters) - 86% AND NOT 92%

    Kisumu Rural - 44,129 (52,938 reg. voters) - 83% AND NOT 120%

    Baringo North - 30,961 (37,953 reg.
    voters) - 81% AND NOT 92%

    Emgwen - 51,738 (80,987 registered
    voters) - 63% AND NOT 103%

    Mosop - 47,865 (60,548 registered voters) - 79% AND NOT 97%

    Eldoret North - 79,953 (143,729 reg.voters) - 56% AND NOT 116%

    Sigor - 36,937 (46,566 registered voters) - 79% AND NOT 115%

    Now where is the rigging here? Look before you leap! Kibaki rigged and no amount of spin will wipe away that fact!

    Omany.

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  12. Regarding the results you've just posted, have you realised that the presidential votes of Kibaki in those two constituencies are more than the total parliamentary votes? Do you think this is normal? That people walked in, received ballot papers for presidential, parliamentary and civic votes and then voted presidential, threw away the parliamentary and civic ones and walked away? Are you serious?

    Come on, I'm sure you have brains. Unless of course, you're trying to hide your head in the sand. O.D.M. figures, according to you and E.C.K. (that corrupt mob of incompetent, senile bastards), are incorrect yet eben your own figures show a discrepancy in the total parliamentary votes and Kibaki's votes.

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  13. You guy CHRIS,

    Do you honestly believe the B.S. that you post ?

    It should have occurred to you by now that any "credible" report from London is total hogwash.

    It's obviuos that the U.K. have missed the status quo of the Moi years where there was no competitive bididng for their firms and they supplied the gvt with a host of things from cars to machinery.

    Now that has changed, we don't want their stinky business and they are using their full machinery to fight the gava, from BBC etc.

    I was even surprised to see the former British High comm sir Edward Clay put his own spin on this in a BBC Interview, but he was no match for Martha Karua who put him in his place.

    CHRIS, you are part of this ODM UK Machinery but you won't succeed. At the end of the day daddi, those brits just look at you as a black goon but a useful one so stop licking their pale asses and learn to love your own , however dark or black it is!

    wacha extra domo! enda ujenge nchi!

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  14. 3 weeks max and Colin Bruce will have been transfered. Goodluck as he finds the next African country.

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  15. We Should STOP demonising tribes,
    Kikuyu, Luo, Kisii etc

    Our so called leaders should be faced and be made accountable for the evils in our country.

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