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Nairobi - Kenya's government, already criticised for allegations of high-level corruption, faced another blow to its credibility on Monday after a report accused it of blowing state funds on expensive cars for its ministers.
The report by two watchdogs said President Mwai Kibaki's government spent 878-million shillings (about R75-million) on new vehicles - enough to see 25 000 children through eight years of school - since sweeping to power in 2002 on promises to tackle poverty and fight graft.
The local branch of Transparency International and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said nearly half the amount was used to buy 57 Mercedes Benz's between January 2003 and September 2004. The rest the government splurged on a fleet of fuel-guzzling four-wheel drives, the report said.
 
"Conspicuous consumption makes a mockery of poverty alleviation efforts, besides creating resentment in society," the report said.
| 'The line between wasteful expenditure and grand corruption is very thin' |
"Additionally, the line between wasteful expenditure and grand corruption is very thin and because of this senior government officials continue to be perceived as corrupt."
A government spokesperson was not immediately available for comment on the report. The report criticised the government for extravagance at a time when most of its 32 million people cannot afford a decent meal. Three years of poor rains have pushed four million Kenyans to the edge of starvation, forcing Kibaki to declare the drought a national disaster and appeal for $150-million in aid.
"The part that's annoying is that they've come in on a platform of change, but they have shown the same extravagance, the same disrespect of the people as the previous regime," Maina Kiai, the chairman of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, said.
The report was particularly scathing of the ministry of justice which it said had spent 82-million shillings on 13 Mercedes Benz for the High Court.
The amount could have fed, clothed and sheltered 5 500 Kenyans for a year, and was more than what the government spent on controlling malaria in 2003/04, the groups said.
| Fresh claims of corruption involving senior ministers and cabinet allies surfaced |
Kibaki is facing one of the worst crises at the helm of east Africa's biggest economy with mounting calls for him to resign after fresh claims of corruption involving senior ministers and cabinet allies surfaced last week.
The "Anglo Leasing" scandal hit the headlines after Kenya's former anti-graft chief John Githongo accused ministers of complicity in the multimillion-dollar scam involving contracts for a company that did not exist.
In documents leaked last week, Githongo said the scam was an attempt to build a government war chest before 2007 elections.
The government has asked Githongo, who currently lives in Britain, to return to Kenya and give evidence, and has promised to prosecute those involved.
The opposition, which has demanded that Kibaki step down, threatened at the weekend to storm parliament within two weeks if the president failed to reopen it.
Kibaki suspended parliament after a humiliating defeat in a November 2005 referendum on a new constitution he had backed.
The opposition argues that parliament must be recalled to discuss the drought, corruption and the collapse of a building, caused by suspected shoddy construction, killing 14 people.
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