Confusion over presidential orders risk to growth agenda

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto at funeral service of the late Sarah Jerop Kasaon in Rongai,Nakuru County on July 28,2018. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

In the last three months, the country has witnessed a renewed and determined war against corruption. The zeal displayed by officials from the DCI, the NIS, the ODPP and belatedly, the EACC, has sent signal that the corrupt will have nowhere to hide.

Of course, there are reservations about how the arrests of the suspects have been carried out with some dismissing it as melodrama. Many Kenyans will agree that the end justifies the means.

The thing is; the country has been weighed down by corruption and the citizenry has wearied of the ruling class’s promise to fight it year-after-year.

But from the arrests over the new NYS scandal; to the arrests at Kebs and Kenya Power Company-where the Executive floor was emptied after its top managers were arraigned in court over corruption allegations - it is becoming obvious that it is not going to be business as usual.

It is this newspaper’s view that fixing the fundamentals of governance; specifically addressing what makes it easy to steal public funds and not be caught that is at the centre of what is not working in the country. Simply put; to fix runaway joblessness and the attendant poverty, corruption has to be rooted out. Indeed, the World Bank has reported that each year, corruption alone denies a staggering 250,000 youths a job and a livelihood.

That called for urgent action.

By going hammer and tongs at corruption, President Kenyatta is doing some good to his fledgling legacy. Because on its own, fighting corruption will no doubt, give the desired quick win.

And so perhaps in a bid to ramp up the pressure and maintain the momentum, President Uhuru Kenyatta has even issued an Executive order on the tendering and procurement in the public sector.

He also asked heads of procurement and accounts to step aside and undergo vetting to establish their suitability. He went a step further and directed that all public servants undergo a lifestyle audit starting with himself and his deputy William Ruto.

Despite initial resistance generally attributed to poor and uncoordinated communication, procurement officers and chief accountants have stepped aside and vetting has been ongoing.

It is the method and the legality of the process that has cast a cloud over the intended outcome.

This could partly explain why nearly two months after these officials were asked to step aside on June 1, there is no clear indication of what has been achieved and specifically, when these officers- who hold critical dockets-will report to work.

The imbroglio the government finds itself in is also because the process goes contrary to employment and labour laws and the risk of legal suits from those who would be pronounced unsuitable to hold their jobs is sinking in. By all means, this was not a disciplinary process. Yet it has the hallmarks of one.

Add to that the new presidential directive halting any new projects that has seen the Treasury freeze nearly Sh400 billion that was meant for at least 300 projects.

Though it is understandable that freezing new projects translates to turning off the corruption taps by addressing procurement malpractices across the public sector and that there is a return on investment from projects, the move is fraught with many risks. Stopping projects that have a direct impact on the citizenry- because it doesn’t fall under the Big 4- might seem unjustifiable.

For example, halting the construction of a police station in a bandit-prone area or suspending the construction of an access road at a far-flung place can be construed as punishing the innocent and thereby diminishes the intended good. Or consider its effects on the economy given that the government is the largest spender?

The thing is; we will not be rid of an age-old problem like corruption in one fell swoop. Every year, government departments absorb between 70-80 percent of what is budgeted. That is what needs to be addressed.

It is important that the prescription for the canker (corruption) doesn’t end up being more lethal than what it sought to cure in the first place.

For now, clarity and a progress report are needed on how the new measures are deterring corruption before new directives are issued.