Parties are the missing link in anti-graft war

Integrity Centre, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption headquarters in Nairobi. 

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Our national and county treasuries seem to be the pigsty of powerful individuals plundering public resources with abandon.
  • Our corruption index is so pitiable we are the laughing stock — at 43rd out of the 180 countries rated in the 2019 corruption index, among the failed nations.

The dealings of corruption are murky, the results stinky and the conversations distressing. There is a stark difference between how we treat politicians and administration of justice officials from others on matters of graft.

I don’t see vitriol, bad blood, name-calling and harassment of politicians whenever allegations of corruption are directed at them as would have happened to others. Are the laws, value systems and concerns that criminalise corruption so selective?

How do such fundamental principles of human interaction and institutional providence birth discriminate response? We must consistently condemn acts of corruption, no matter the culprit. I daresay, alongside the media, we are guilty of double standards. Are Kenyans tired of whining or just immune to the vagaries of poverty, absurdity of politicians and the inadequacies of their own follies?

Corruption

Our national and county treasuries seem to be the pigsty of powerful individuals plundering public resources with abandon. Of late, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission have unearthed sickening situations in which politicians have swindled the public or attempted to.

Were all the monies alleged to have been siphoned out recovered, wouldn’t this country have experienced great transformation? Yet our political culture crucifies accountability, defecates on the rule of law and scorns integrity for loyalty, patronage and favouritism.

Our corruption index is so pitiable we are the laughing stock — at 43rd out of the 180 countries rated in the 2019 corruption index, among the failed nations. We cannot convict suspected offenders. We need to interrogate our attitudes, gauging to what degree we have sustained corruption by being passive to an issue so endemic and systemic.

Enhancing transparency

Why are we quiet when political leaders and public servants waste resources, hoard opportunities, suffocate equality and gamble equity to entrench systemic and societal inequalities?

The principle of separation of powers was aimed at enhancing transparency and safeguarding the citizens from the excesses of any arm of government. What is the role of the Auditor-General if all her reports are statistical rituals? Why should the Commission for Revenue Allocation officials draw salaries when the Senate has the final say on revenue allocation to counties?

Of what purpose is the office of the Controller of Budget when all her calculations are ceremonious rhetoric? Why should impeachment expend taxpayer funds when the Senate seems to be a gun for hire? Why has the President refused to appoint 41 judges vetted by the Judicial Service Commission?

Political parties must be seen to be part of the anti-corruption effort. They should ensure the names of those accused or suspected of corruption and other economic crimes are not on the ballot paper.