NAIROBI, April 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The Kenyan government is expected to be taken to task by the country's development partners on graft and the slow pace of reform on Monday, before they decide whether to pledge funds to rebuild the economy.

    During the two-day consultative group (CG) meeting coordinated by the World Bank, the Kenyan government plans to put up a spirited fight against allegations of endemic graft to convince the donors about its resolve to fight the vice.

    The meeting, the second such for the ruling coalition government, comes amid a growing perception that grand corruption is coming back.

    Early this week, Kenyan Finance Minister David Mwiraria said graft and reforms are expected to generate heat at the consultative meeting, an annual forum when the government appeals for specific financial support from all its donors, and the donors make pledges.

    "The government has been accused of corruption which cannot be proved. We will explain the situation to the donor community and we hope we would be understood," Mwiraria said.

    But outgoing World Bank country director Makhtar Diop said donors would like to see the government take concrete action against those suspected of corruption to restore its credibility in the fight against graft.

    "The meeting will ask the government critical questions on economic reforms contained in the Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS)and on governance which has been a central issue in the last six months," said Diop, whose term in Kenya expires this month.

    A senior government official told Xinhua on Sunday that the east African nation is taking Monday's meeting very seriously, where donors are expected to ask governance questions.

    "There are several reports already in place to be presented to the donors. For the first time, the government has prepared a progress report on its economic recovery strategy. The report spells out what the government promised and what has been achieved," the official who declined to be named, said by telephone.

    The official said that of the 17 key donor nations Kenya is banking on, Sweden is now the most generous, putting in more money than other European states.

    The official said the Scandinavian donors have been more generous with their money and liberal in their conditions than the traditional Western and US donors.

    "These new donors have come up with new perspectives including respect for human rights, transparency and freedom of speech. The government fares fairly well on these areas and we are confident of getting donors' backing at this meeting," the official said.

    "Sweden and Norway have been insisting that we invest in institutions and not in individuals, and that is the point the government will be trying to prove that it has achieved," he said.

    In 2003, donors, welcoming the election of President Mwai Kibaki's government and pledged 4.1 billion US dollars over the next three years for projects to be implemented by nongovernmental organizations and the government.

    But the disbursement of the funds has been slow, partly because of concerns about how funds were being used, and analysts say Kenya will face an uphill task to convince donors to be as generous this time round.

    Donors have increasingly questioned the Kenyan government for not taking concrete action to combat corruption and being slow to implement the economic reforms it promised before it came to power.

    Key donors like the European Union have suspended disbursement of pledged funds until the government shows it is serious about tackling the problems.

    While other donors have been sharply critical of the government's fight against corruption, some observers say the World Bank has been more lenient in calling for new anti-corruption agencies to be given time to tackle graft.

    Diop said the World Bank does not believe that corruption is as widespread in the east African nation as it was during the 24 years under previous regime when the bank sharply reduced its programs in Kenya.

    Diop said, however, that the bank would not hesitate to withdraw funding if it felt corruption was worsening.

    "At this stage we don't think that there is evidence of widespread corruption in Kenya which can make us change our program in the country," Diop told reporters recently.

    He said donors would like to see the government accelerate the enactment of laws to speed up privatization of state firms, reform the financial sector, and strengthen public financial management and procurement procedures.

    But Canadian envoy to Kenya Jim Wall has already made it clear his country was likely to make no new pledges at the meeting, but added he was keen to hear the Kenyan government's defense against allegations of corruption involving top officials.

    Kenya has been under intense donor criticism over its handling of graft among the top echelons of government and it is not easy to predict the outcome of the two-day meeting. Enditem