Private business can play role in graft war

Integrity Centre in Nairobi that houses Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission offices. Corruption is undermining Kenya’s prosperity. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • In the six months since declaring out wealth, the country has gained a lot of ground in realising our dream of a less corrupt Kenya.
  • Leading firms in Kenya now require their suppliers to sign up to the Business Partners Charter.
  • At Kenya Bankers Association, we require our members to sign up to the Business Partners Charter.
  • Forensic audit conducted by third parties has been used as a tool to fight graft.

In December last year, Mr Bob Collymore, the chief executive of Safaricom, and I made a pledge in front of President Uhuru Kenyatta that we would declare our wealth.

This was not an easy thing to do, especially in a society that values secrecy regarding wealth and how it was acquired. But lifting the veil of secrecy in order to foster a corporate culture that values openness, transparency, and hard work was the precise point and symbolism we were aiming for in our contribution to the fight against corruption.

My public declaration was driven by the need for the private sector to embrace greater transparency. Kenya is bleeding from corruption mainly driven by secrecy in organisational operations.

In the six months since we made our wealth declaration, the country has gained a lot of ground in realising our dream of a less corrupt Kenya. For instance, leading firms in the region are now requiring their suppliers to sign up to the Business Partners Charter.

Others are enforcing supplier sustainability self-assessments to ensure that the companies they do business with adhere to their code of conduct.

The Kenya Private Sector Alliance, Global Compact Network Kenya, and Kenya Association of Manufacturers have also rolled out a self-regulation mechanism to promote and enhance the ethics of business conduct in Kenya.

At Kenya Bankers Association, we require our members to sign up to the Business Partners Charter. This has become especially urgent as the industry endeavours to re-establish trust among Kenyans after the collapse of Dubai and Imperial banks and the recent troubles at Chase Bank.

Another tool that we are using to fight corruption is forensic audit conducted by third parties. These internal audits allow for introspection, which will help us learn lessons from our experiences to enable us to build even better companies

INTERNAL SELF-ASSESSMENT

We support regular internal self-assessment by corporates to enhance their “climate control”. We believe that building strong businesses will come through transparency-promoting initiatives and self-correcting mechanisms such as internal audits.

We would like to work with the private businesses to promote a culture shift to bring up a generation that believes in hard work. One that is devoid of taking shortcuts to get access to services.

One that believes that one does not have to pay bribes to get access to schools, job internships, promotions, and work placements. One where SMEs and other businesses do not have to bribe to get tenders in corporations and government.

Fortunately, we have a cache of young entrepreneurs who, with our active support, are the next generation of leaders and in whom we are trying to inculcate a sense of wellbeing, a predisposition to hard work, and who will be our warriors against corruption.

We foresee that the Sh50 billion that the Kenya Commercial Bank is dedicating over the next five years to the Jiajiri project will create a new genre of entrepreneurs who are driven by a passion for excellence.

We realise that there are many entrepreneurs running SMEs who have big ideas but no capital. Without capital, these businesses will never progress beyond being SMEs. We must have our own homegrown businessmen and women who are hungry for success and who need just a little push to achieve take-off.

The writer is the KCB Group chief executive and chairman of the Kenya Bankers Association.