SYNERGY IS VITAL IN THE WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION

If there is something that has divided Kenyans as much as it has united them, it is corruption. Lately, corruption has become a national talking point and figuratively turned Kenya into the modern day version of the Biblical Tower of Babel. It is a phenomenon that has left leaders in the socio-economic and political spheres ‘speaking in tongues’. One thing has nonetheless remained constant all through-the President’s expression of his wish and desire to completely rid the nation of corruption. The President has floated a slew of possible approaches to the war against graft. There was a time last year, for instance, when the he floated Lifestyle audit as the silver bullet with which we could shoot corruption from our nation. The philosophy behind the decision to subject all public officers to a lifestyle audit was to put them to task to account for their wealth. You recall the hullabaloo that this proposal elicited, don’t you? In the end, this noble initiative, which had unanimously been hailed by Kenyans as a move in the right direction, was quietly shelved.

Finally, there is a glimmer of hope that we could after all slay the corruption dragon. This ray of hope is evident in the level of zeal, dedication and commitment with which the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI) are taking their responsibilities. For the first time in the history of independent Kenya, the nation has been treated to the now infamous ‘Friday arrests’. The victims of theses arrests have seen holders of influential social and political positions, who have hitherto been considered ‘untouchable’.

The DPP and the DCI have been unflinching in their resolve to bring the corrupt to book. This has however not been without murmurs of discounted and disapproval. This is what brings me to the crux of my argument. The President has, time without number, declared his unreserved support to the war against graft. He has never at any point reneged on his word. He has at the same time been sincere enough to express his frustrations in his cause. You’ll remember that one time when the President turned around in his address and asked the nation what it was that people wanted him to do on the war against the corruption menace. To many, he, in this instance, gave the impression of a leader who was conceding defeat in an epic war. Few accurately decoded the President’s message. He was pointing a finger at the wanted level of synergy among the institutions that are instrumental in the investigation, profiling and prosecution of corruption cases.

It is sad that the discord among the institutions that should be spearheading the anti-graft purge has persisted to date. The Judiciary, the offices of the DPP and the DCI have up to very recently been caught up in an incongruence of opinion with regard to the best approach that the war against corruption ought to assume. This is as sad as it is disheartening. For the war on corruption to be won, there in urgent need for the adoption of a concerted effort approach. To begin with, there is need to amalgamate all the arms of government in the anti-graft campaign. In this respect, the National Assembly should come up with legislations that will seal all the legal gaps that the corrupt have been exploiting in their evasion of justice. The Judiciary, on the other hand, needs to hasten the prosecution of graft cases and serve justice in the quickest possible time. In addition, the Judiciary should come clear of the allegations she is insulating those who are accused of corruption instead of firmly dealing with them. Even though the Chief Justice has refuted these claims, there is no better way to sustain public confidence in the Judiciary than the initiation of a complete shift of paradigm in the way and manner in which graft cases are handled.

The largest chunk of responsibility in the war against corruption lies on the Executive arm of government. Political goodwill is crucial if any significant steps are to be made in the anti-graft campaign.  The President has led the way and all the other public servants must follow suit. In fact, the President should not budge in his crusade against corruption. The kind of blame game that the heads of the arms of government have been feeding the nation on must urgently come to an end. The onslaught against the corrupt must at the same time be anchored upon objectivity. It should never be used to achieve political ends.

Over and above all, there is need for educational curriculum developers and implementers to secure the place of integrity as a crucial skill that learners need to be equipped with early in life. This aside, those who are implicated in cases of corruption and consequently found guilty, should be severely dealt with. This, of course, should happen within the confines of the law. Conversely, the forthright citizens need to be rewarded. It is obviously in this spirit that the President recently touted a tout as a paragon of honesty and subsequently decorated him with a befitting presidential award. You know the story of this tout, don’t you? To bring you up to speed, the object of reference here is the tout who picked a wallet loaded with cash of unknown value and out of honesty, beat everyone’s expectations by tracking the owner of the wallet and handing over the cash to him.

Even more important than any other proposal I have so far raised, is the need for proper remuneration of public servants. There is close correlation between a person’s affinity to corruption and their remuneration. Hypothetically, the better the remuneration, the lower the chances of one engaging in graft. With proper remuneration, accountants and auditors will not be complicit in corruption any more. They won’t connive to doctor financial records with a view to siphoning money from the public coffers. Besides, there is need to leverage on the monumental gains we have made in Information Communication and Technology and employ the same in the anti-graft war. Such inventions as the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and NationalEducation Management Information System are laudable and should give birth to better technological tools that can be used in the fight against corruption.

Erick Muge

Communication consultant

[email protected]