VOA标准英语2010年-Missing Millions Put Kenya's Public Ed

Investigations¹ are continuing into the alleged² theft of more than $1 million from a government program that funds Kenya's Free Primary Education initiative. As a result of the scandal surrounding the case, both the British and American governments have suspended funding for the program. And that raises fears that primary schools will go without essential materials and services in the near future.

Two of six Education Ministry³ officials facing charges in connection to the alleged theft of $1.3 million from the Kenya Education Sector⁴ Support Program appeared in court in early February.  They are among some 40 officials that the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating.

"Suspects basically forged receipts. They took imprest [government application forms for funds]," Nicholas Simani, the commission's public relations officer said. When they were supposed to surrender (receipts), they forged those items. There was fraudulent acquisition of funds."

Those funds help to support primary and secondary education in Kenya. And because of the alleged fraud, in late January, the U.S. government suspended $7 million from the Education Sector Support Program. That followed the British government's withdrawal⁵ of  $16.1 million.

 

"We want to see a full and transparent⁶ audit⁷, something that could be published and shared with the Kenyan people," Michael Ranneberger, U.S. ambassador to Kenya said. "We want to see the people who are identified as responsible - again, whatever the level, from the very top down - fully⁸ investigated and prosecuted⁹."

Kenya won world-wide praise when the newly-elected Kibaki administration created the Free Primary Education initiative in 2003. The initiative was designed to remove school fees and other barriers that kept primary children out of school.

As a result, primary school attendance in Kenya increased by more than one million children and secondary school attendance jumped 10 percent.

The initiative assists more than eight million children, and includes giving them greater access to textbooks and equipment. But those gains may be at risk if donors¹¹ continue to freeze funding.

George Wesonga is the national chairman of the Kenya National Union of Teachers. "Unless money comes in from somewhere, the situation will be bad," he said. "Because the supply of things will not be there, things like electricity, books, equipment, and therefore education is going to be affected¹² seriously."

Wesonga says his group suspected that money was being misappropriated more than a year ago. "As a union we have been smelling a rat, because if this money was from the donor¹⁰ community, we knew that the money was coming in good time. But we started to realize that money was not going to the schools in good time, and when we were asking for reasons, they would not give the reasons," he stated. "They would say, 'We shall be wiring money to these schools in a month's time, in a week's time', and the days would go by."

The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission estimates that at least 100-thousand children may not be able to continue their education because of the suspension of donor funds.

Ministry of Education officials declined to be interviewed by VOA TV.

In press reports, ministry officials have maintained that the Free Primary Education initiative will continue, and that they are doing what they can to investigate the situation.
 

1 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

7 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

10 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

11 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。