BBI REPORT – FIGHTING CORRUPTION

Kenyans believe the system is rigged and that it rewards cronyism and corruption as opposed to production and hard work.

Corruption is today the greatest risk to Kenya’s cohesion and security. Tackling corruption is the single important mission Kenya has today

1. Free Kenya from the capture of cartels through an action plan to break the cartels and severely punish the culprits.

2. Target bankers and banking executives who are promoting money laundering and make them pay heavy fines and do jail terms.

3. Promote whistle blowing by giving rewards of 5% of recovered proceeds to persons who give information on corruption deals.

4. Promote ethics by making incorporating ethics and performance assessment training in every Public Service course required for promotion.

5. Include ethics and civics as part of every educational curriculum from the lowest to the highest educational levels

6. Include the fight against corruption as part of the performance contracts of Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries

7. Enhance the freedom of the media and whistle blowers to report on corruption

8. Ban all public officers from doing business with the government. They also must not engage in business outside government unless the activities they wish to engage in are approved.

9. Conflicts of interest must be declared whenever they arise especially regarding spouses and children of public officers when they have to deal with a public agency that employs their their husband/wife/parent.

10. Make all wealth declaration forms open to public scrutiny and all wealth above Kshs. 50 million must be explained. Potential conflicts of interest must also declared.

11. Leaders must take political responsibility where negligent or poor quality government actions have led to disasters by resigning

12. Make Kenya a 100% e-service nation by digitalizing all government services, processes, payment system and record keeping.

13. Strengthen the Judiciary as an anti-corruption tool by

i) Create the position of Special Magistrates and Judges to deal with the most grievous cases of drug trafficking, corruption, terrorism, and other serious criminal offences and make special security arrangements for these magistrates and judges to be provided for by the State.

ii) The powers of the Judicial Service Commission to discipline judges should be expanded so that the Commission can legally deal with lesser disciplinary offences by judges that affect the value of justice delivered without resulting to the Constitutional measure of removal from office.

iii) Strengthening the office of the Judiciary Ombudsman to make the office more responsive to the people and accountable to it. It should be revamped and made more accessible and responsive to the public

iv) Give Kenyans a choice to take their complaints to the Judiciary ombudsman or the Commission on Administrative Justice

 v) Together with other independent commissions by promoting internal accountability by separating powers of appointment and promotion from that of interdiction and censure