Anti-graft war needs cartel of the good

The anti-corruption gauntlet thrown to the private sector by President Uhuru recently was certainly a wise move. It is a fact that it takes two to tango, and in matters corruption, the private sector is most certainly an expert dancer. There is no way the multi-billion shilling corrupt deals in which public officers are implicated could be solo dances. Somebody does corrupt the officers, and that somebody is most likely private. Indeed, this has been confirmed by a study in which Kenya’s private sector was listed among the most corrupt in the world. Thirty per cent of Kenyan companies were found to have greased their way into winning government tenders and contracts. That is why the roping in of key private sector leaders in the war against corruption could be a major plank in crossing this treacherous chasm.

When Siemens AG, the largest engineering company in Europe, was found to engage in major corruption scandals, Peter Solmssen was part of the group that Siemens CEO Peter Löscher brought in to help clean up the company’s institutional culture. Speaking later at a United Nations Global Compact Leaders’ Summit, Solmssen made significant observations about the importance of multi-sectoral cooperation in the fight against corruption. He observed that corruption in the private sector is often fueled by stiff competition. However, he argued, industry players must learn to cooperate on setting ethical standards, even while competing commercially. This sort of cooperation, he said, can lead to significant change: “If we, the major companies and, really, anyone in private industry, link arms, we can drive corruption out of our markets. I call it the Cartel of the Good. If we cooperate, then there is no bribery.”