Much as the Kenya Human Rights Commission has not studied the latest audit report on Kenya Airports Authority, the findings by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu mirror what we have been raising in our public finance accountability forums.
The revelations raise serious questions about accountability and transparency in the use of public money. This calls for a thorough investigation into the flagged cases.
The Auditor General, as the custodian of public funds, has to ensure that taxpayers' money is put to proper use and is free from elements of corruption.
The oversight is the reason her office and that of the Controller of Budget have been under attack by some unhappy politicians.
These are machinations to discourage the offices from being vigilant and to intimidate them from pursuing corrupt public servants out to loot public cash.
Misuse of funds by the Kenya Airports Authority jeopardises the organisation's financial stability and undermines the allocation of resources meant for public good.
If Kenyans are losing such an amount of money, it erodes their public trust and confidence. It creates an atmosphere of skepticism.
Some thing must, therefore, be done. Theft of public funds must stop. We insist that money meant for public projects be put to proper use and be free of any shady dealings, and members of the public have to be informed and be briefed on the specifics of how their hard-earned money has been used.
To solve this problem, we call for immediate investigations into how the monies were lost and whoever was culpable must be held to account.
This cyclic problem is about budgeted corruption. The unscrupulous officers budget the corruption, which they siphon once approved in the budget-making process.
It is not a question of projects not being planned. We cannot speak of lack of proper planning since we have technocrats at the various state institutions. The corrupt are so entrenched in the system that weeding them out has been a challenge.
Kenya Human Rights Commission communications officer spoke to Star