Kenya’s big transparency problem

We are in the middle of a raging debate about the role and powers of the Office of the Controller of Budget—the gatekeeper of the public purse—following remarks by its current holder, Dr Margaret Nyakang’o, during an interview on a popular television programme.

Her comments attracted attention because many Kenyans interpreted her assertion that the office has no visibility over funds and levies held outside the Consolidated Fund—including the multi-billion-shilling National Infrastructure Fund—as an alarming disclosure. They saw it as evidence that the Executive had hidden public money from an all-seeing watchdog.