NAIROBI: Kenya's leadership and integrity laws have not been implemented fully for the past five years, a study by civil society organisations has revealed.
According to the study released by Parliamentary Initiative network Tuesday, laws touching on integrity and graft in public institutions have not seen the light of the day since the promulgation of the Constitution in 2010, thus making looting of public resources a norm that cannot be easily eradicated.
The survey shows that there are no clear ways of vetting and clearing those seeking public or elected positions in Government.
"The Leadership and Integrity Act can be amended to improve enforcement mechanisms for chapter six especially in regard to vetting and clearance of the State and public officers, penalties of contravening chapter six and removal or suspension of elected officials found to have contravened the provisions," the report, dubbed Towards Hazy Horizons partly reads.
The report also revealed that the Leadership Act did not lay out the process for removal of elected leaders due to corruption issues. Members of the National Assembly were blamed for diluting the contents of chapter six of the Constitution.
MISFORTUNE ARCHITECTS
Speaking during the launch of the report, former Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission director PLO Lumumba told President Uhuru Kenyatta not to yield to political pressure but axe those who are involved in looting.
"Julius Nyerere was right to say that this is a man eat man society. We are the architects of our own misfortunes by electing leaders on the basis of money and we expect them to perform. We must change if Kenya is to change," Lumumba said.
The report also showed that Kenyans do not care about day-to-day governance issues. They are said to be less vigilant about what is happening in Government and public offices thus creating a loophole to those intending to loot.
"Kenyans cry about corruption, not that they hate it but it's because they lack the opportunity to engage in it. We must have a thorough lifestyle audit of the people in public offices and confiscate the ill-gotten wealth," Lumumba said.
And Central Organisation of Trade Union (Cotu) and Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) have said all elected leaders listed in the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission's list of shame should to step aside.
Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli said he has evidence against suspended Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi and asked President Kenyatta not to re-appoint him after investigations.
"We must support the President to fight corruption. If those leaders in the list are clean they should not cry. We have information on graft and we will share with the relevant authorities, some of those indicated should not come back," Mr Atwoli said.
SPREAD NET
Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion asked the Jubilee government to "spread its net wider" saying that some officials were left out.
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He quoted the laptop tender and placement of children in school as some of the recipes that would have seen officials in the education sector appear in the list of shame.
The two unions will hold a joint Labour Day celebrations event as Cotu marks 50 years of existence.
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