We have no right to point fingers on graft, says Kepsa

Head of Public Private Sector Dialogue at the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) Agatha Juma. (Photo: Courtesy)

The private sector has admitted to having it easy when it comes to matters corruption.

Head of Public Private Sector Dialogue at the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) Agatha Juma said private sector players abet corruption at will but rarely attract any public condemnation. She said this is despite the sector having had a strong hand in the loss of billions of shillings of taxpayers’ money and in some instances the collapse of organisations, some of which are critical to the economy.

Ms Juma said companies and their employees have also enjoyed leniency from professional associations that appear to shield members implicated in corruption, even though they have regulations, including codes of conduct that guide practicing members and spell out strong penalties.

“We do not have the moral authority to stand to government when it comes to corruption because corruption exists in private sector. This is seen in many facets like companies and their officials bribing Government officers to ensure that they get business,” she said.

Ms Juma spoke Thursday at a forum on corruption and anti-corruption initiatives that brought together different professional associations.

“There are no consequences for people that have been cited for corruption. In individual companies, the person might get fired. Among professional associations, people are rarely punished when they are found to have engaged in corrupt deals.”

While public officials have over time come under heavy criticism because of embezzlement of public funds, private sector players’ transgressions mostly go unnoticed.

The success rate of prosecuting public officials is wanting and rarely are public funds recovered, but Ms Juma noted that while their counterparts from the corporate world more often than not get their day in court, they get away with just a slap on the wrist. She added that the Bribery Bill, 2016 once passed into law will be critical in holding to account private sector players who engage in corruption.

The Bill, which was instituted after a meeting between the Cabinet and private sector last year, requires companies to put in place mechanisms to prevent their officials from engaging in bribery. The Bill also prescribes penalties for organisations and individuals that offer public officials bribes to influence actions and decisions. Its sanctions will cover both local and foreign companies that have Kenyan operations.

“Up until now, we did not have legislation that had penalties for private sector officials. All the penalties were targeted at the public officers. The Bribery Bill has mechanisms to penalise both the recipient and the person giving a bribe. We should ensure that it is fully implemented,” said Ms Juma.

 Thursday’s forum was aimed at enlisting professional associations and their members in the fight against corruption.