Kenya on path to winning war against graft

It is high time we called attention to graft, the most dangerous problem in Kenya in 2020.

Economic crimes - corruption, bribery, fraud, and asset misappropriation have for a long time harmed our mentality, our ability to withstand hardship, our economy, and our collective consciousness more than the immorality that typifies economic crimes. 

During former President Moi era, people were too afraid to speak out. Those who were unconnected continued to get poorer. And most Kenyans who held positions of power knew that the only way to maintain status was to commit economic crimes.  

And anyone wanting to conduct business in Kenya knew that one of the overhead costs of doing so was paying bribes to get on the good side of the elite.

The Goldenberg scandal is just one example of the disillusionment that the older generations faced as they had to come to terms with the reality of the flows of money in Kenya. That was the culture that flourished during the early decades of our statehood.  

And under Mwai Kibaki, we began what would ostensibly be a new era of democracy, a time for the people of Kenya to take control.

But these high hopes were largely met with disappointment when it became clear that the Kibaki administration continued many of the same de facto practices as its predecessor.

But we are not such a young state anymore, and we should not accept excuses about inequality. And since the problem of economic crimes has historically come from the top-down, with it occurring most prevalently at the government’s highest levels, the solution must also come from the top.

It is apparent that President Uhuru Kenyatta is fed up with graft, and that is why he launched the anti-corruption campaign with such vigour and determination.

A recent survey by top international accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) found that economic crime rates in Kenya far surpass the global average.

According to the company’s Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey, over the last two years 75 per cent of Kenyans have experienced some form of economic crime. Across Africa, averages are also higher than the global average, but lower than in Kenya.

Sixty-two per cent of Africans have been victims of economic crimes.

The most common economic crime is asset misappropriation, or using the company or organisation one works for, for personal gain. The second most common type of economic crime in Kenya is fraud.

Consumers in Kenya commit fraud at a rate of 35 per cent, while the global average falls below 30 per cent. 

The survey listed procurement, bribery and corruption, accounting and human resource fraud, money laundering and insider trading as other forms of economic crime in Kenya.

The survey also stated that “of the 10 countries that reported the highest incidence rate of economic crimes globally, five we observe are African countries.”

The data reflected a surge of 16 per cent in economic crimes across the globe since its 2016 survey.

But the fact that African countries already exist in a challenging economic environment, or that fraud is rising all over the globe, is no excuse. 

We cannot sit idly by and accept it. President Kenyatta has made it clear that this is not the future that he envisions for Kenya. Under his leadership, we have seen more crackdowns at the highest levels than any other leader in our nation’s history.

Arrests of mid-level bureaucrats numbered the thousands in the wake of the National Youth Service scandal.

While financial corruption is a major challenge, it is not impossible to overcome if we support the campaign against it.

But if we are fragmented, we will lose sight of our goals. Let us put an end to it once and for all, and prove the predictions of global surveys wrong. It is on us as Kenyans to determine the realities of our country.