Welcome to the age of dishonesty

Dishonesty seems to define our age. Who has never been a victim of dishonesty - from underweight meat from butchers to people who promise what they cannot deliver. How often are we sold fakes including medication? How many young have been promised jobs they never got?

How many broken hearts litter this nation courtesy of dishonesty? It might not be an exaggeration to suggest that the level of honesty differentiates developed from developing countries. Cases of dishonesty are becoming too common and institutionalised. We have simply learnt to be dishonest even when it is not necessary.

At work places, employees have no qualms being dishonest - from telling lies to faking sickness. Employers are not innocent too; how many have failed to honour their deal on promotion or salary raises? Even among the unemployed, dishonesty thrives. How often have you funded idlers after their sweet lies touch your heart? How many beggars on the streets actually own the kids they carry on their backs?

Conceal evidence

In schools, cheating in exams has become a big problem. In one university, a lecturer caught a student with micro-notes called "mwakenya" but the student simply swallowed the notes to conceal evidence. Even in churches, dishonesty has found a place too. I once walked past an open-air church service and stopped out of respect as they were praying. The next thing I heard was "if you have any money, raise it up we pray for it." The next thing after that was God loves cheerful givers and a few people starting walking around collecting our money.

Kenya has a thriving industry based on dishonesty, ranging from falsifying documents to outright fraud. Dishonesty has found home in our homes too. The foundation of any nation is strong families. When there is dishonesty in families, the national foundation becomes shaky. Noted the numerous cases of dishonesty in homes, ranging from cheating to domestic violence. Dishonesty seems to cut across classes, education levels and gender (though women tend to be more honest on average).

Apart from our failure to love work, dishonesty has been another big drain on our economy. Dishonesty is called by fancy names such as corruption while economists prefer to call it rent seeking. Dishonesty may not be easy to model in economics but its damage both long term and short term is there for all to see.

People are dissuaded from working hard when dishonest people become heroes. This reduces national productivity and economic growth. When it becomes more profitable to be dishonest than honesty, most people will avoid work or just do enough to keep their jobs. Yet economies grow faster when citizens go beyond the call of duty.

Dishonesty goes beyond lowering productivity. It kills entrepreneurship. You may have noted that most firms are set up by two or more people from Microsoft to PwC. They expand because the founders and employees are honest. In Kenya, it has become hard to start enterprises with fellow Kenyans including relatives. As soon as profits starts coming, dishonesty sets in.

The economic landscape is littered with sad men who have been disinherited their investment by dishonesty.Instead of the business expanding, the founders spend more time fighting among themselves. The disputes can even be inter-generational. How do children feel when their parents were conned off a business by another family? There are several suggestions on why we are dishonest. First, parenting has failed. I recall when I was growing up I came across a shilling on the way home from school and took it home. My mother told me to return it where I found it. Today?

Inculcating the virtue

May be we do not live by example and kids learn from us. If we are taught early to be honest, we are likely to remain so most of our lives. Read the Bible. Proverbs 22:6 says "Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. Our other institutions have not been honest in inculcating the virtue of honesty. I have asked why missionaries were so successful in running our schools than the current school heads. Why has Carey Francis of Alliance and Geoffrey Griffins of Starehe not got equivalents 50 years after uhuru (AU)? The difference is honesty.

The same pattern of dishonesty is noted in other public institutions; from hospitals to government offices. Needless to say, dishonesty pays to the individual but the nation loses. In fact, we have noted with great sadness that many people who aspire to be leaders do so with one intention - to get freedom to be dishonest.

What can we do about dishonesty?

In parenting, we must return to the roots. Some jobs like parenting are better done in the old-fashioned way. Think loudly; why are Asians so successful in bringing up their kids? Seen any Asian street kid? Our institutions must start by getting leaders who are honest. If chapter six of the 2010 constitution can be implemented, we could see honesty and integrity becoming national virtues. We must give people incentives for being honest not just punishment for being dishonest.

Incidentally, honesty has huge economic dividends. Honest people are more productive, and enterprising-because they have better perception of reality. They are more likely to get jobs anywhere in the country and world. I have heard from conventional wisdom that many Kenyan employers irrespective of their own ethic background like employing Kambas, because they are perceived to be honest.

Interestingly, you need less effort to be honest than to be dishonest! The call to have foreigners conduct our elections, and hold other senior positions is driven by our perception that they are more honest. Yet honesty can be built with time. Honest people tend to be happier, what we all aspire to be. Let us collectively bring to an end the age of dishonesty. I hope soon huge banner will adorn our airports written, "Welcome to Kenya the land of honest people".