You’ll be held liable for illegal deals, President warns CSs

President Uhuru Kenyatta has warned ministries awarding tenders in unclear circumstances that top officials involved would be held personally liable.

The President said Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and chief executives of parastatals will face the full force of the law if tenders are issued under their watch without following due process.

The warning comes in the same week two former Finance ministers and other former government officials were arraigned in court in connection with economic crimes committed in the Anglo Leasing scandal.

Mr Kenyatta ordered all sections of Government to immediately adopt the e-procurement platform launched last August so that the public can see that all rules have been adhered to before a Government contract is awarded.

The ‘Procure to Pay’ module of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) provides “clear audit trails and identification of the originator of all transactions”.

The President, who spoke at State House, Nairobi, said there are no sacred cows in his Government and anyone who does not abide by the law will be personally held responsible.

“We expect all issues of procurement must be on the e-procurement platform so that every single citizen can see whether a tender was done transparently, whether it was done correctly, who was awarded and why and who the other competitors are,” he said.

The Head of State said even anti-corruption bodies would be held accountable.

“There is no sacred cow in this Government, none, including myself,” he said. “I have no right to call a CS, PS or a chief executive to tell them to award a contract to a particular individual. If you hold an office you must do things in accordance with the law and not in accordance to pressure from those calling you. You will be held accountable,” he said.

President Kenyatta also called on civil servants to work to restore public confidence.

The President spoke when he was presented with a gold medal awarded to Kenya for innovative management in Africa.

Kenya won the gold medal in the 2015 African Association for Public Administration and Management held in Morocco this week.

The medal, which Kenya won for the Huduma services, was handed over to the President by Cabinet Secretary for Devolution Anne Waiguru.

President Kenyatta said that by the end of 2016, there will be a Huduma Centre in every county. Currently there are 18 centers in the country bringing together 35 Government services.

The Devolution CS said the Huduma services were providing crucial services to the public and playing a big role in restoring confidence.

Cabinet Secretaries Joseph Nkaissery (Internal Security) and Kazungu Kambi (Labour) and other senior Government officials attended the function. -- PSCU