Uproar over move to place EACC under PSC

What you need to know:

  • Public Audit Bill could also curtail information on State spending.
  • Proposal flies in the face of Uhuru’s directive and could help corruption cartels tighten their grip on the government, analysts warn.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s anti-graft fight could be flying into headwinds, owing to counter moves by some political allies and sections of his government, deliberately or inadvertently.

Most poignant is the proposal to have the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) bosses appointed directly by the Public Service Commission (PSC), a move that would technically make them subservient to the Executive arm of government.

This could help corruption cartels tighten their grip on a government that, experts say, is already chocked, with more than Sh300 billion lost to graft annually.

Another blot is the move by the PSC, which has issued a new draft disciplinary manual, to outlaw disclosure of confidential information among civil servants. This is widely seen as meant to contain whistle-blowing on corrupt practices in government.

And it comes just days after leaked documents from the Ministry of Devolution and National Planning headed by Ms Anne Waiguru showed how taxpayers could have lost staggering amounts of money under questionable procurement.

Ironically, the proposal flies in the face of the directive by President Kenyatta that, for the war on graft to be effective, whistle-blowers must be protected.

But PSC chairperson Margaret Kobia does not see the contradiction, saying the moves are meant to separate witch-hunts from serious accusations.

“Confidential information has no relationship with reporting graft cases. By all means, information regarding integrity and corruption will be given out. Allegations on graft cases need to be investigated and evidence produced to avoid witch-hunting,” she says.

PART-TIME

Should Mr Kenyatta assent to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Bill 2015, EACC commissioners will be recruited on part-time basis, an arrangement observers say cannot work well for such a critical institution. 

The chairman of the Commission on Administrative, Mr Justice Otiende Amollo, says giving the PSC such powers would water down the independence of EACC.

“If you have a multi-stakeholder forum comprising constitutional commissions and other non-state actors, they are likely to pick an independent person without looking at the party affiliation.

“For instance, commissioners at the EACC investigate corruption, including at the PSC, the same way the Auditor General will audit matters at the PSC. You do not want a body that in itself is subject to the jurisdiction of the same bodies having a say on who to appoint,” he says.

Were this to succeed, Mr Amollo cautions that other heads of independent bodies — like the Director of Public Prosecution — could also be appointed by the PSC.

The Public Audit Bill has been cited by Senators as another way the administration wants to control information on how it uses public resources.

The executive director, International Centre for Policy and Conflict, Mr Ndung’u Wainaina, says a responsive and accountable democracy that can meet the basic needs of the people is built upon transparency and free flow of information.

Auditor-General Edward Ouko has called for changes to the Public Audit Bill, saying if passed in its current form it could impede his office’s mandate to audit government expenditure.

Mr Kenyatta has been widely praised for the courage to acknowledge that corruption is rife even within the Office of the President. What is, however, in doubt is his approach to tackling it, with reports that some government officials are out to sabotage the push.

Arguing that the vice had dented the credibility of Kenya’s body politic, the Opposition accuses Mr Kenyatta of displaying a cavalier attitude, particularly when his close allies are suspected to be involved.

“When a president is held hostage by an evil cabal of corruption cartels, the outcome would make Anglo-leasing and Goldenberg scandals look like child play,” Opposition leader Kalonzo Musyoka said recently.

But Mr Kenyatta’s lieutenants maintain that, more than any of his predecessors, he is out to pull out all stops to slay graft.

“People are missing the point on this, particularly the legal perspective of the fight on corruption. The debate about how people are appointed to these commissions should be centred on Parliament and not the presidency. We all know that the President is not a law maker,” said Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau.

“The President and the Deputy President have shown absolute commitment to this fight. In fact, more than any other administration in Kenya, he is the first to put members of his own government on the line in this campaign. Independent bodies like the Judiciary and the Director of Public Prosecution must now take over,” said the chairman of the President’s TNA party, Mr Johnson Sakaja.

In his annual parliamentary State of the Nation address this year, Mr Kenyatta took an unprecedented step and tabled a list of individuals who were being investigated by the anti-graft tsar, a list that included five cabinet secretaries.

But Kenya being a country where political debate is conducted acrimoniously, where ethnic loyalties are almost always the first line of defence when public servants are cited in such ‘lists of shame’, corruption can only grow to tragic proportions.

Some suspects have now run to their ethnic cocoons to rally support.

Observers warn that with the 2017 election year approaching fast, plunder of public resources is likely to become endemic as those planning to contest for various seats seek to create financial reserves for the campaigns.

PLAGUED BY CORRUPTION

In a joint letter to American President Barack Obama ahead of his maiden tour of the country as president next weekend, 17 non-governmental organisations say accountability continues to be plagued by corruption at all levels of government.

“Left unchecked, this corruption impacts the ability of the Kenya Government to protect national security and provide basic services. Although President Kenyatta initially appeared to take a bold and encouraging stand when he presented the list of those suspected of corruption in Parliament last March, the process seems to have been politicised and selective,” they state.

They said the government had lately launched an attack on independent commissions, a trend that could limit civil liberties.

“We recommend that you should encourage the Government of Kenya to safeguard the independence of institutions such as the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions in order to enhance accountability.” 

The organisations include Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG), Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Kenya Section of International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri).