Nyandarua shows way in war on corruption

I was thrilled by a recent news item regarding a Bill proposed by the Nyandarua county government to curb revenue leakage by punishing employees who falsify revenue collection records.

This comes in the wake of numerous reports of corruption and wastage of resources, with several counties coming under the scrutiny of the Auditor General and the Controller of Budget.

More importantly, this follows the precedent-setting judgment that imposed three-year jail terms on three suspended members of the Nyeri county executive committee formerly in charge of finance and planning and land and infrastructure, and a former chief of staff.

This case sets a precedent in dealing with corruption at the county level. The three had been charged with six counts of failing to comply with procurement laws and abuse of office.

The case and ruling are unique, not just because those involved in corruption are rarely jailed, but also because of the individuals involved. County executives are the equivalent of the national government’s Cabinet secretaries.

It has also put a face to corruption in counties. Many times claims of corruption have been met with denials by governors and other county officials.

That the prosecution has proved allegations of corruption against top county officials is, therefore, an important step in the fight against graft.

For many years, public institutions have concentrated on unearthing corruption on expenditure and not revenue collection, yet there has always been evidence of stealing.

In a research report titled Management of Resources by Local Authorities: the Case of LATF, published a few years before the transition to devolved governance, the Centre for Law and Research International documented massive corruption in a number of local authorities.

The organisation found that revenue collectors had designed and perfected ways of stealing. One of the main avenues was the practice of having multiple revenue receipts, some genuine and some fake.

The collectors would collect revenue and issue receipts. The recipients of the receipts would never know whether they were genuine or fake. In essence, these collectors would be collecting part of the revenue for themselves and part for the local authority. You can guess which side got the bulk of the revenue.

It is no wonder then that the former local authorities were heavily indebted and could not provide services. The rot was so deep that years after the Local Authority Transfer Fund came into being to, among other objectives, help the authorities’ clear debts, there was very little success.

Counties inherited most of the staff of the former local authorities. A lot of the corruption practices were, therefore, carried over to the devolved governments.

If successfully enacted and implemented, the Nyandarua Bill will provide a good example for counties and even the national government.

By the way, President Uhuru Kenyatta still owes us feedback on the lifestyle audits he ordered on the staff of the Kenya Revenue Authority, which has in recent times recorded steadily dwindling revenue collections. We are waiting.

The writer is the president of the National Civil Society Congress. [email protected].