Kenya’s war on corruption not yet lost

NAIROBI: Kenya ranks at position 139 out of 169 in the recently published Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2015 by Transparency International. This marks a slight improvement from position 45 out of 175 countries globally in CPI 2014, even though the score remains at 25 per cent in the two surveys.

This score is however low compared to Africa’s best performing country Botswana, with 69 per cent at position 28 out of 169, or even the best in the East Africa, Rwanda with 54 per cent at position 44 out of 169. As a ray of the first hope, it should be factored that the CPI measures perceptions and not actual corruption. Further, the 2015 CPI comes in the wake of national reawakening with anti-corruption as a national agenda.

Despite the above picture, evident efforts by Kenya’s leadership, anti-corruption agencies, stakeholders and the citizens to raise the corruption as an urgent issue that needs to be tackled should be hailed. The prioritisation of the challenge with respect to addressing corruption has been addressed as follows. Notably, Kenya has made great strides in establishing and strengthening institutions mandated with fighting corruption.

For instance, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission is established as the primary agency. On a complimentary angle: Auditor-General; Controller of Budget; Kenya National Audit Office; Director of Public Prosecutions; the National Treasury; the Judiciary; Parliament; the Ombudsman; National Police Service; the National Intelligence Service; the Criminal Investigations Department among others play role.

We have seen fervour to enhanced monitoring, investigation, prosecution, restitution and reduction of corruption opportunities under this regime.

To address the legal, policy and administrative frameworks, a number of interventions have been instituted. In line with the constitution, the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012, Public Officers’ Ethics Act, among other legislation are enacted.

In addition to the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, the Mwongozo Code of Conduct has been introduced to entrench good governance in public institutions. In the long run, policy reform is an active step to limit increasing corruption prevalence of a country over time.

Effective management of public finances by the national and county governments has been provided for under the Public Finance Management Act of 2012. The Act has created oversight responsibilities and addressed problems of inadequate planning and project prioritisation. There is also a strategy of decentralisation in planning and monitoring of public expenditure through a policy of participatory budget making. In response to the many corruption procurement related complaints; the Public Procurement Oversight Authority Act and the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2005 as well as other legislation and administrative measures are operational.

These have called for training, capacity building, and review of regulation and elimination of potential areas of conflict of interests. Moreover, the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIs) has facilitated efficient and effective e-procurement of goods and services.
Good governance is the laboratory where integrity can be ripened. In line with the governance principles enshrined in the Constitution, we have secured basic welfare and democratic rights: equity, non-discrimination, public participation.

These interrelated set of principles combined with economic, institutional and political reforms have come to be known as Kenya’s matchless good governance reform in the region.

Finally, it should also be reckoned that the country has adopted a multi-sectorial approach in fighting corruption. Recent calls by our top leadership to end the vice are timely. Drawing parallels from the best practices, we have what it takes to eradicate corruption.

The novel feature of the path taken is that it can go explicitly beyond the traditional focus of simply eradicating corruption to include a wide range of people-centred reform practices.