Tycoons in half of tenders keep names, office secret
A report from Kenya's Public Procurement Regulatory Authority reveals that over half of state contracts were awarded to companies that failed to disclose their beneficial owners. This lack of transparency breaches local laws and complicates anti-corruption efforts supported by the IMF.
Why it matters
Secret ownership in government contracts is a major driver of public sector corruption and undermines fiscal accountability in developing economies.
Businesses which secured over 57 percent of tenders in ministries and parastatals kept their identity, addresses and office location secret in breach of the law, raising fresh concerns over transparency in State contracts.
Disclosures in the annual report of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) show firms that secured 14,819 of 25,994 contracts failed to disclose their beneficial owners.
This points to struggles in unmasking shareholders of companies who secretly benefit from State deals through nominee accounts in efforts to boost transparency in public sector procurement.
The breaches look set to upset the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which pushed for enactment of the law that will force disclosure of secret owners in companies awarded procurement contracts as a tool for fighting graft.
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