Corruption watchdog cleans up image with high profile asset recoveries

Ever since its inception in 2004, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission has borne the tag of a ‘toothless bull-dog’, given to it by anti-graft crusaders.

But this dubious credential seems to be edging towards an end.

With the recent recoveries of stolen public assets and the prosecutions of several high-profile government officials accused of graft, KACC seems to be on mission to spruce up its image.

Corruption is estimated to have cost Kenya’s economy at least Sh200 billion over the past two decades.

Judging by the current national budget estimates, the money lost through scandals is adequate to run the ministries of Education, Medical Services and the National Assembly for a whole year, excluding the hundreds of millions spent on investigations.

Last week, the anti-corruption agency handed the government land worth Sh1.7 billion, which had been grabbed from the Forestry ministry and the Kenya Wildlife Service.

This was part of a larger lot worth Sh6 billion which the State agency has seized in the recent past.

Over the past few months, at least 30 senior government officers have been taken to court over allegations of graft.

One major accusation that has for years been levelled against KACC is that it has only been chasing small offenders instead of corrupt individuals connected to the Kibaki and Moi regimes.

Despite the renewed efforts, the question being asked by analysts, business leaders and Kenyans is this: Is Kenya finally winning the war against graft?

“We have to be very cautious. Yes KACC has taken several senior people to court but historically, how many corruption cases has the Government won against the offenders? Hardly any,” said Patrick Obath, the chairman of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance .

“The number of cases taken to court and the seizures are only an indicator that KACC is beginning to do its job but not necessarily a signal that we are winning ,” Mr Obath added.

The new drive to fight corruption is coming in the wake of new mega scandals in government which have tainted Kenya’s credentials in the international community, leading to the suspension of aid among some donors.

New scandals involving the private sector and government players that threaten to derail Kenya’s fight against graft include the recent purchase of land meant to be used as a cemetery in Athi River at an inflated cost by the City Council of Nairobi — a case that has landed at least 15 officers in Court.

This scandal came hot on the heels of another in the free primary education program where Education ministry officials embezzled millions of shillings given by the British government to fund various school projects.

For this, the British Government suspended all financial engagements with Kenya until the matter is investigated and the lost cash recovered.

At least five officials were taken to court over the same.

Other high profile cases in which investigations are still pending include the recent irregular purchase and subsequent sale of subsidised maize from the strategic grain reserve to millers at a time when the country was facing the most severe food deficit in two decades.

KACC has predicted that theft of public resources will increase in the next two years, citing a determination by politicians and senior civil servants to raise money for the 2012 elections.

The argument is that fundraising for the elections presents a high stakes political contest likely to spark a vicious circle in which millions of shillings may be lost.

KACC acting director Dr John Mutonyi said last week’s handing over of land to the Government is just but the beginning of planned seizures and prosecution of the grabbers.

“It is a shame we must bring to an end ... It has gone on for too long and become a culture, now we must act,” Dr Mutonyi said.

Anti-graft crusaders argue that KACC’s success boils down to one data point: the return on investment that taxpayers get when stolen assets and money is recovered, the number of high profile convictions and the deterrence force of the institution in fighting corruption.

This return should be compared to other countries which suffer rampant corruption and have fought economic crimes aggressively.

A generally ineffective war against corruption in the government coupled with poor governance and service delivery have been blamed for the worsening political and economic risk profile in the country.

This is seen as the biggest threat to progress in the country; worse than the ongoing global economic recession

“Until we systematically fight corruption by successfully prosecuting offenders, we wont do much, ” said Mr Obath.

Last week, the African Union berated Kenya’s commitment to good governance, accountability and the fight against corruption, ranking it among the worst performing states — a harsh indictment for a country aiming at controlling the region’s economic landscape.

East Africa’s biggest economy has been ranked the second worst among 10 countries polled by the AU, a performance attributed to Kenya’s failure to ratify key protocols like the Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.

Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International ranks Kenya as the third most corrupt country in the East African Community region in its Bribery Index 2010 launched on Thursday.

According to TI, Kenya has improved from the most corrupt last year, overtaking Burundi and Uganda. Rwanda is the least corrupt.

Analysts are concerned about this. “As long as Government transactions continue to be done in secret, all these efforts might be elusive although they can potentially eradicate corruption,” said Karugor Gatamah, the chief executive officer at Africa Corporate Governance Advisory Services.

“The only thing that will end corruption in public offices is transparency, disclosure and a clear financial reporting system coupled with strict penalties on unscrupulous officers,” he said, adding that without clear checks and transparent systems, even credible witnesses and could be compromised by a web of corrupt officers in government offices.

In the broader war against white-collar crime in government, heated debates are now emerging over the direction Kenya should take in the administration of justice especially for those who tolerate or foster corruption.

It is a big, multi-billion shilling debate that the public feels strongly about and has been isolated from taking part in.

It has also prompted important questions as to where Kenya went wrong and what can be rectified.

Part of the public perception problems have stemmed from a lack of quick wins in the prosecution of politicians in the early days of KACC.

Now, anti-corruption activists and business leaders are cautioning that runaway corruption could further hurt the already fragile business environment at a time when the economy is struggling to recover.

Some argue the drive for quick profits by the private sector has also given birth to mega-corruption scandals in the government as some unscrupulous business people induce contract awards by influencing civil servants.

Good governance

Economist David Ndii, believes Kenya’s growth prospects are hinged on good governance.

“We have under invested in promoting governance and this has turned out to be very costly. The resources we have invested across the board have been lost through bad governance, ” said Dr Ndii.

Two months ago, Prime Minister Raila Odinga ordered that the fight against graft be included as one of the benchmarks in measuring the performance of Ministries, Public Corporations and government departments under the annual performance contracting evaluations.

In yet another salvo aimed at eliminating corruption , Attorney-General Amos Wako has unveiled stringent rules to seal loopholes in contract negotiations involving all government bodies.

The State law office says it is now seconding State counsels to all ministries and State corporations to oversee contract negotiations, an exercise cited by analysts as the main source of corruption in public offices.