Nairobi - The World Bank did not renew funding for a project to help more than 1 million Kenyans to withstand recurrent droughts after some of the money could not be accounted for, an official said on Friday.
Johannes Zutt, the World Bank country director, said the group chose not to give new funding to the Kenyan government for the Arid Lands Natural Resource Management Program until it accounts for $4.1 million that was used.
The unaccounted money was part of $120 million the bank gave to the project from 2003 to 2010. The Kenyan government says it is looking into the fraud allegations.
Critics say mismanagement and endemic corruption in Kenya's government are partly to blame for the hunger situation in Kenya where the UN anticipates that 3.5 million people will need food assistance in coming months.
Kenya, East Africa's largest economy is one of the most corrupt countries in the world according to anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International which ranks the country at 154 of 178.
Zutt said the World Bank gave a lot of financing to the Kenyan and Ethiopian governments to help people to cope with drought and the threat of famine.
Most of the money was spent to improve drought preparedness and address emerging threats of drought. Zutt said response times were improving.
Anti-corruption crusader Mwalimu Mati described the lack of accountability in the arid land project as the “saddest scandal you can ever come across because the arid lands are the poorest regions in the country and people really need the aid.”
Kenyans over the years have expressed anger with the government for not coming up with permanent solutions to ensure its citizens remain unaffected by the recurring droughts. The impact of drought this year has been compounded by high food and fuel prices.
On Thursday, government spokesman Alfred Mutua denied that Kenyans had died as a result of the drought and blamed the international media for negative reports. - Sapa-AP