BBI: Whistle blowers to be paid 5pc of cash recovered from graft

Whistleblowers of corruption scandals and cartels in agriculture and economic sectors will be paid five per cent of recovered loot if the proposals of the BBI are adopted.

The National Intelligence Service will be tasked with investigations into the conduct of these cartels. President Uhuru Kenyatta has in the past admitted that these cartels have caused the economy to crumble.

Last year, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations conducted audits on consignments and records with the aim of flushing out the cartels that have infiltrated the industry, occasioning losses to farmers.

Despite coffee being one of the most highly consumed products, with over 2.8 billion cups being consumed daily, mostly in developed countries, farmers have been wallowing in poverty.

This has been attributed to a conspiracy between regulators, millers, traders and brokers who keep prices down to increase their own profit margins.

Tea farmers have also been having their share of misery as bonuses continue to dwindle. Last month, the farmers were paid using one of the lowest rates over the years.

Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina blamed cartels for the losses, which have seen many farmers abandon tea farming.

“They overprice insurances, fertilisers and transportation of tea to auction houses at the expense of the farmer,” he said.

The maize sector has also been invaded by cartels in the past. So deep-rooted are the cartels that police and government officials have been accused of getting involved.

BBI aims at encouraging Kenyans to volunteer information that will help fight graft and eliminate cartels that have paralysed some sectors.

Last year, the government, through the office of the Attorney General, had proposed that citizens be paid 10 per cent of the amount recovered from graft.

“A whistle-blower who makes a disclosure that leads to the arrest and conviction of an accused person shall be rewarded with money from the fund,” the bill proposed.