KENYA NEEDS A PARADIGM SHIFT IN ITS WAR ON GRAFT

As the Cabinet Secretary of Education released KCPE data for 2016, there was a drastic drop of about 31% in the number of pupils who obtained marks above 400. While it may be grossly presumptive to link wholly attribute the drop to absence of exams leakage, this number caught my attention for a curious reason. In an interview earlier in the year, the immediate former Chairperson of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Phillip Kinisu told Reuters, "Kenya's budget is now approaching 2 trillion shillings; a third of it is being wasted through corruption." In another research by the Aga Khan University, 30% of the Kenyan Youth believed that Corruption is Profitable, while 35% would readily give or receive a bribe.

The thirty-something percent mark reveals a dire dilemma. There is no way we will imprison our way to a corruption free nation. Instead, we need a total paradigm shift, founded on three pillars. These Pillars are, Strategic Political Will, Rule of Law & Pro-Poor Investments.