Bribery Bill ropes in private sector in war on graft
What you need to know:
The Bill, now headed to Parliament for debate and possible adoption, was approved by the Cabinet last week.
The proposed law was presented to President Uhuru Kenyatta by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance last November.
Bill covers all facets of bribery, including giving, receiving and even promises to give something to gain an advantage.
Private companies and charity organisations will be required to implement tough measures to stop their workers from giving and receiving bribes if a proposed law is passed.
According to the Bribery Bill, 2016, the institutions need to come up with their own internal mechanisms to prevent bribery, and outlines stiff penalties for those that will fail to do so.
It also seeks to ensure that those found giving and receiving bribes are heavily punished.
The Bill, now headed to Parliament for debate and possible adoption, was approved by the Cabinet last week.
The proposed law was presented to President Uhuru Kenyatta by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance last November.
It covers all facets of bribery, including giving, receiving and even promises to give something to gain an advantage.
“A commercial organisation is required to have in place procedures, appropriate to its size and the nature of its operations, for the prevention of bribery,” says the Bill.
The draft law covers all private firms, foreign and local, that do business or charity work in the country.
The Cabinet, chaired by President Kenyatta, said the emphasis on firms having internal structures to deal with bribes is aimed at dealing with the supply side of kickbacks.
“The requirement for firms to adopt anti-bribery measures is informed by the fact that the private sector acts as the supply side of corruption in the public sector, hence the need to stop bribery at the source,” said the Cabinet.
For companies that fail to put the measures in place, the director or any other senior officer or an individual acting in any of these capacities will be liable to abetting corruption and will face a jail term of up to 12 months.
“The objective of this Bill is to criminalise both the offering and receiving of bribes by any individual, including local or foreign entities, and to make specific requirements for private entities to have in place procedures for the prevention of bribery,” said the Cabinet.
