Kenya Minister Resigns Over Allegations

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Kenya's planning minister says she is resigning her position for health reasons after allegations of corruption surfaced.

Anne Waiguru said in a statement Saturday that her doctor had advised her to ask to be relieved of her duties at the Planning and Devolution Ministry, which is being investigated for squandering funds.

The Public Accounts Committee, a parliamentary watchdog, has launched investigations into the ministry after the auditor general raised questions over spending.

Waiguru admitted that $7,750,000 was lost to dubious contracts. Two top officials in the ministry have been charged with attempting to convince another official not to report the loss of the money.

Corruption is a major problem in Kenya. Transparency International ranked Kenya 145 out of 174 countries in its 2014 corruption perception index.

(KA)