Parastatals and other government agencies have become notorious avenues for the theft of public resources.
Here are organisations that are set up either to provide essential services or backup for key public operations only to end up being conduits for stealing public assets to enrich as few people. The Auditor-General chronicles the loss of colossal sums of public money every year.
Many of these organisations have huge assets at their disposal, which have been left to go to waste while others cannot be traced. These are the cash cows that crooked officials milk with abandon. Resources that could improve the well-being of citizens are mismanaged by officials, who still shamelessly draw their monthly salaries. It is the height of impunity.
In a recent report, Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has sounded the alarm about Sh18 billion property belonging to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCCA) that is in danger: Ownership documents for land and other property in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilifi, Turkana and Wajir counties are missing.
Ms Gathungu revealed this in audited KCAA accounts for the 2020/21 Financial Year, which are before Parliament. It is a damning disclosure on the agency whose mandate is to develop a sustainable, safe and secure civil aviation system and provide effective oversight and regulation of air transport.
The KCAA risks losing land and housing units to crooked outsiders colluding with wayward staff. We hope the MPs will deal with this matter with the seriousness it deserves to secure the properties and sanction the officials concerned.
Other public institutions and agencies are also embroiled in similar travesties. The properties of educational institutions, security installations and research institutions should be identified and fenced off and title deeds secured. Private investors must do due diligence when buying property to avoid losses when the assets are reclaimed by the government.
Roads, Transport and Public Works Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen should lead serious efforts to fix the mess in his portfolio. Public property must be protected at all costs.
