Combat theft of public funds

A shocking orgy of looting has been going on for years in parastatals, government ministries and departments and other agencies, through which billions of shillings have been lost. Crooked staff take advantage of the vital public services they are supposed to provide, not just to blatantly steal from their employer, but also fleece the very people they are hired to serve. This is the height of criminal impunity that gives the government a bad name.

Still vivid in the minds of many are the images of hooded Kenya Revenue Authority employees who were hauled to court recently over fraud allegations. Of course, they are all innocent until proven guilty by the courts handling their cases, but the matter remains a major talking point in public conversations. The latest revelations, however, are the claims of a Kenya Power billing scam, in which customers have been ripped off and the siphoning of fuel from Kenya Pipeline Company. Kenya Power staff are accused of colluding with crooked individuals and organisations to steal from consumers through inflated bills.

This comes as an embarrassment to the power utility which, in response to a public outcry last year, had explained that the inflated bills were as a result of migration to an Integrated Customer Management System and backdating of bills in order to recover Sh10 billion owed by customers. In some of the fraudulent deals, customers were connected to the grid through unregistered post-paid meters and the money paid stolen by the staff. In another scam, ICT staff lowered bills for customers and got kickbacks. Others manipulated and inflated bills and waited for the customers to lodge complaints. Some were slapped with monthly bills of up to Sh300,000.

It is noteworthy that the DCI is leading investigations into the scams.  It is an abuse of trust and disappointing to note that these employees are motivated, not by the need to serve the public, but to enrich themselves. The time to clean up the various agencies and demonstrate the old adage that crime does not pay is now.