| |
Contributions from
the Column
Facts and trends
“It’s still a long way to peace in Sudan”
Journalists
No new approval procedures for export credit guarantees in Germany
Drugs and development: harm reduction strategies
Smaller volume of German arms exports
Kenya, Angola: billions missing
Afghan economy growing – so is the drug trade
Health services
2/2004
|
|
[ Kenya, Angola: billions missing ]
During the 24-year rule of Daniel Arap Moi, corruption stripped the Kenyan state of three to four billion US dollars. According to a study conducted by the country’s new government under President Kibaki, the money was spirited out of the country by Moi’s government officials. According to the BBC, some of the money has now been tracked down by a private security service. The investigators reckon that at least a billion dollars is deposited at various European banks – possibly in Switzerland and Monaco – and invested in shares in London hotels. Kenyan Justice Minister Robinson Githae, however, told the BBC he has information indicating that the money has now been transferred from Europe to a number of African countries, including Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana.
Angola has also been fleeced in a big way. According to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, more than four billion dollars of public oil revenues disappeared without trace between 1997 and 2002. That is nearly ten percent of the country’s annual gross domestic product. The government of José Eduardo dos Santos immediately decried the report as incorrect. It is based on “non-credible sources” and makes charges that have not been confirmed by any of the international financial institutions, the government claims. According to Human Rights Watch, the report is based on figures from the International Monetary Fund. (ell/uke)
|
