Why ogre of corruption is a threat to President Uhuru's legacy

President Uhuru Kenyatta extends a handshake to Mombasa County Governor Hassan Joho when the two met at Miritini in Mombasa County. [Maarufu Mohammed/Standard]

In what appears to be a daily dose in Kenya, we are being treated to news about corruption in unprecedented proportions.

And as fast as this news is coming, we are also being treated to a charade of claims and counter-claims on who is to blame and what is to be done. Sad.

As this goes on, there is attendant increase in poverty levels as corruption continues to decrease the total GDP available for distribution.

Corruption continues to reduce the spending power, real income, or economic resources at the disposal of the poor.

This continues to worsen poverty directly by reducing access to goods and services or increasing deprivation.

Of course, corruption is a global issue: no country is without poor people or without corruption.

But again, one can safely say that without corrupt officials, poverty levels are reduced as corruption has a devastating impact on ordinary people.

It means that poor people can’t get the goods and services they should be able to without paying bribes.

If you talk to ordinary Kenyans, you feel the real effect of corruption. They are personal and they are devastating. Corruption leaves children without mothers, families without healthcare, people without food, the elderly without security, and businesses without capital. Simply put, it devastates people’s lives and dashes hopes.

The budget

Official data shows that corruption eats at least Sh700 billion every year, which is about a third of Kenya’s budget.

With a nearly Sh3 trillion national budget, we have to go begging to sustain it and still have to contend with a more than Sh500 billion deficit.

Debt repayment will take up as much as 45 per cent of revenue collected. Clearly, the deficit and debt levels are a major concern, especially as they lead to the crowding out of credit available to the private sector.

I can only imagine what we can achieve with the Sh700 billion we lose to corruption.

If the money was to be directed to the improvement of our healthcare, food security, manufacturing, education and infrastructure, the quality of our lives would improve.

If were are to resort to deficit financing, as we shall be doing, to compensate for the shortfall in revenue due to corruption, inflation is likely to result, with its attendant pressure on the cost of living, impoverishing the poor further.

Ironically, in the budget statement read by Treasury Cabinet Secretary last week, Sh460.2 billion has been set aside to finance President Uhuru’s Big Four agenda.

This amount is nearly half of what the country loses to corruption every financial year.

This is why, if the President is not careful, his legacy and the Big Four Agenda face a daunting and uphill task.

This is because, when a large amount of revenue is foregone as a result of corruption, much-needed funds for capital expenditure are reduced, thereby decreasing the productive capacity of the economy and, by extension, its growth.

Corruption network

This is a problem for President Uhuru’s administration because it means the machine of Government is not operating the way itis supposed to. When corruption is held in check, however, there is a measurable development dividend.

What the President and his men should now do is ensure that the war on corruption that he has started should be sustained.

The multi-agency effort his administration has put in place should be given all the support it needs and it should target the entire corruption network.

The President must ensure that all those engaging in corruption and allied activities - small and big - are dealt with firmly.

On the other side, all Kenyans must play their part by supporting the fight by reporting the corrupt and shunning them.

The Judiciary will need to up its game, as indicated by the Chief Justice, by unreservedly joining the fight. Parliament, which has an oversight role in this matter, needs to wake up from its slumber and stop being a toothless bulldog and playing political games.

What this means is that we must focus our efforts on preventing future scams to insulate the Big Four agenda, which is important to our lives and relates to access to quality public services vital to us such as health, food, jobs, education, water, infrastructure and sanitation. In this, there should be no sacred cows.

The cost of corruption in Kenya is very high. It threatens both the legacy of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Big Four agenda.

Prof Mogambi, a development communication and social change expert, teaches at the University of Nairobi. [email protected]