Okoa Uchumi Campaign: Lobby Groups Raise Awareness On Public Debt, Champion For Accountability

NAIROBI,Kenya, Apr, 1 – A group of Civil Society organizations under the Umbrella ‘Okoa Uchumi Campaign’ has raised concerns over the country’s ballooning public calling on the government to cut on spending and borrowing in order to stabilize the economy.

The group launched the ‘Okoa Uchumi Campaign’ which they say is aimed at raising public awareness of the debt that Kenya faces and promoting accountability, especially in financial management. 

The lobby groups claim that the Kenyan government has been captured by individuals who wield power and are using political connections to steal public funds.

Following the launch, the Campaign is expected to kick-off a tour Central, Coast and Western Kenya region in the coming days where they will hold forums with Kenyans to educate them on matters of public debt and how they can actively participate in ensuring they hold leaders accountable.

“We will engage in civic education and engage county partners so that voters make informed decisions in the general election,” Annet Nerima the programmes manager at Kenyan Human Rights Commission said.

Khelif Khalifa, the Muslims for Human Rights chairperson, said that accountability for government projects and tenders needs to be open to the public for them to know who applied for the tenders and how much the tender is worth, saying that this would help stop the stealing of public funds.

“We need to put legislation that bars government officials from doing business with the government,” he said.

Wanjiru Gikonyo, the National Coordinator of The Institute for Social Accountability, said that the debt crisis was being exacerbated by what she described as budgeted corruption or a budget that is designed to steal from Kenyans.

“Why should Kenyans continue to pay for hidden debt whose terms and conditions remain hidden from us,” she stated.

According to Ms Gikonyo, parliament, which is supposed to check on the national government to ensure that taxes are properly used and that the government does not borrow past the debt ceiling had failed in its mandate. 

The keynote speaker at the event, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga said that Kenyan politics is ethnic-based and money dependent.

“If we are going to challenge the current leadership, we have to deal with divisions otherwise we will not get anywhere,” he said.

According to Mutunga the current crop of leaders and those running for office have been captured by local and international groups which he said have their own selfish interests at the expense of Kenyans.