Deputy President William Ruto yesterday demanded that directors of all firms doing business with the government be published in 30 days.
Aiming his gun at big names controlling public tenders, the DP wants the National Treasury to compile and make public the companies for public scrutiny.
“I want to ask the Treasury to forward the list of the parastatals and government departments that have failed to comply with the directive so that we can take on the boards and CEOs. It’s not a request the President was making. It is an order to be implemented,” Ruto said.
The DP was addressing the media, government officials, diplomats, development partners, and civil society groups on open governance at a Nairobi hotel yesterday. His remarks come after his close allies alleged that the war on corruption led by President Uhuru Kenyatta was targeting specific individuals.
“The National Treasury should forward the list of public entities yet to comply with Executive Order 2, of 2018, on the publication of companies doing business with the government,” Ruto said.
Uhuru on June 20, last year issued the directive (Executive Order 2 of 2018) to accounting officers whom he warned would be held responsible if they sanction new projects without express authority from the National Treasury. In addition, government agencies have failed to publish names of entities benefitting from tenders with those believed to be politically correct winning multibillion tenders.
“When a government involves citizens and organised civil society in the audit of its governance practices, promises and programmes; the society is more stable, the country more organised and the people much happier because they know how their nation is being run in their best interests,” the DP said.
Ruto said the culture of the government officers denying the public vital information on its activities must stop.
He added that the National Treasury and other oversight bodies (Controller of Budget and Auditor General) should also include the details of those who have won the big tenders in their periodical reports for effective scrutiny.