Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05NAIROBI3180
2005-08-05 07:32:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Nairobi
Cable title:  

ENGAGING KENYA ON ITS MCA THRESHOLD PROPOSAL

Tags:  KMCA EAID PGOV ECON EFIN PREL KCOR KE MCA 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L NAIROBI 003180 

SIPDIS

FOR AF/AS NEWMAN, EB/AS WAYNE, MCC CEO APPLEGARTH AND A/CEO
SETHNESS, NSC SENIOR DIRECTOR COURVILLE, AND USAID
ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR AFRICA PIERSON
ALSO FOR STATE AF/E, AF/EPS, AND AF/PD;
USAID/PPC:PDELP AND AFR/EA:JBORNS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2025
TAGS: KMCA EAID PGOV ECON EFIN PREL KCOR KE MCA
SUBJECT: ENGAGING KENYA ON ITS MCA THRESHOLD PROPOSAL

REF: NAIROBI 1593 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Ambassador William M. Bellamy for reasons 1.4 b and d.

C O N F I D E N T I A L NAIROBI 003180

SIPDIS

FOR AF/AS NEWMAN, EB/AS WAYNE, MCC CEO APPLEGARTH AND A/CEO
SETHNESS, NSC SENIOR DIRECTOR COURVILLE, AND USAID
ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR AFRICA PIERSON
ALSO FOR STATE AF/E, AF/EPS, AND AF/PD;
USAID/PPC:PDELP AND AFR/EA:JBORNS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2025
TAGS: KMCA EAID PGOV ECON EFIN PREL KCOR KE MCA
SUBJECT: ENGAGING KENYA ON ITS MCA THRESHOLD PROPOSAL

REF: NAIROBI 1593 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Ambassador William M. Bellamy for reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (U) This is joint Embassy-USAID Message.


2. (C) Embassy Nairobi welcomes the proposed August 15-19
visit by MCC personnel to evaluate Kenya's application for
MCC Threshold funding and encourages an early country
clearance request. We see the purpose of this visit as
assessing Kenya's efforts to draft a Threshold proposal that
reflects a tangible commitment from the highest levels in the
GOK to take direct, substantive action to address high-level
corruption.


3. (C) Any MCC program in Kenya -- where high-level,
official corruption runs largely unchecked -- poses special
challenges. While Kenya arguably does not have all of the
legal resources it needs to prosecute and win corruption
cases in court, Kenya's problem is not that it lacks the
laws, institutions or experience necessary to fight
corruption. The record to date is that these resources will
be of little use without high-level political determination
to use them effectively. Conversely, there is much the
Kibaki government could do today, through the simple exercise
of Presidential authority, to discipline corrupt ministers
and stop corrupt practices. This is not happening, in large
part because the proceeds of high-level corruption are being
plowed back into the political machine that supports
President Kibaki and his re-election in 2007.


4. (C) These unfortunate trends won't be turned around by
vulnerable civil servants trying to enforce rules. Political
elites in Kenya frequently ride roughshod over legislation
they don't like, court rulings with which they disagree, and
regulations that hamper their business activities. Thus, any
meaningful MCC program in Kenya -- if it is to address
seriously the scourge of official corruption -- must be
designed to test and measure high-level political will.


5. (C) As was agreed in the interagency meeting on Kenya in
Washington June 16, USG interests are best served by a
well-focused threshold program that enables the Kenyan
government to demonstrate a real commitment to combating
corruption. Such a program should contain specific
benchmarks or performance indicators against which Kenya's
commitment can be measured. It should target one or more
ministries where there are clear governance/corruption issues
(such as the Ministries of State Security and Health),and
not just the most convenient institutions.
BELLAMY