US congress lauds Kenya's anti-graft efforts

The US Congress has commended Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki's government for putting in place appropriate measures to end rampant graft which has been blamed for slowing economic growth.

In a letter to the Kenyan leader Saturday, US members of Congress said they have been following closely the government's programs to end corruption, which was rife before the NARC government came to office.

"It is only natural that, as the first East African head of state who came to office through transparent, free and fair elections, you choose to pursue this matter, which has implications beyond Kenya's borders," read the letter.

The letter was signed by Chairman of US Congress' InternationalRelations Committee Dan Burton, Vice Chairman of congressional Homeland Security Task Force Eliot Engel and ranking member of theCommittee on Government Reforms, Edolphus Towns.

The US members of Congress also lauded the east African nation's role in bringing peace and stability to Somalia and Sudan.

"We have been pleased by Kenya's leadership in bringing peace and stability to the East African region, most notably by your sponsorship of peace talks to find a settlement in Somalia after 30 years of conflict and chaos, and by your leadership in regionalefforts to bring peace to troubled Sudan," they said.

Hailing the cordial relations between Kenya and the United States, the members of Congress said Kenya was an important regional partner of the United States and a key ally in the globalwar on terror.

They said they were pleased by Kenya's long cooperation with the US on issues of global terrorism, noting that Kenya was the anchor of the east African counter-terrorism initiative.

Source: Xinhua