US gives Kenya $ 12.7 mln to help graft fight

NAIROBI, Feb 17 (Reuters) The United States has given Kenya 12.7 million dollars to stop graft in government procurement, which has traditionally offered the richest pickings for corruption, the US ambassador to Kenya said yesterday.

It is the first positive signal to Kenya from a Western government after years of criticism by donors about how President Mwai Kibaki's administration has handled the battle against graft, a daily fact of life for most Kenyans.

''It reflects our judgment that Kenya is making progress in fighting corruption. We hope this will reinforce those efforts and give them momentum,'' US Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger told reporters.

The money will be used to install computer systems to manage purchases and recordkeeping, mainly for the government's medical supplies agency -- particularly susceptible to graft, he said.

The project will also benefit the ministries of education, roads, energy and office of the president, and provide boosted oversight and training.

Kenya became a byword for graft under the 24-year autocracy of former President Daniel arap Moi, when it got so out of hand it nearly destroyed east Africa's largest economy as the Goldenburg scam sucked 1 billion dollar out of the central bank.

Kibaki came to power in 2002 on a reform platform including eliminating official theft, and he is likely to face criticism on that front when he runs for re-election in polls scheduled for December.

His administration has been dogged by graft scandals that led three ministers to resign last year, including a hangover from Goldenberg and a new scam called Anglo Leasing that involved up to 200 million dollars in payments for bogus procurements.

But two ministers have since been cleared and returned to office -- prompting a feeling among many Kenyans that the Moi-era impunity for the politically connected persists.

That has prompted whistleblower John Githongo, a former graft czar appointed by Kibaki, to release to the media damning tapes of what he says is evidence in the Anglo Leasing case in an increasingly high-stakes game with the government.

The government has undoubtedly made progress in eliminating low-level corruption -- where officials extract little bribes for doing their jobs -- asking for ''kitu kidogo'' or ''chai'', ''something small'' or ''tea'' in Swahili.

But Ranneberger said Kenya had a long way to go in punishing the perpetrators of the largest corruption scandals: ''We are disappointed in the level of action against grand-scale corruption and the lack of successful prosecutions.'' Reuters PKS VP0432