In graft fight, let’s borrow from war on smoking
What you need to know:
The main difficulty with eradicating corruption in this country is the lack of political will.
If we were serious about eliminating corruption from our public systems, we would employ the same approach that has eliminated smoking.
My point today is that in Kenya, our problem might be that we don’t really want to eliminate corruption. We just want it to work to our advantage.
The health professional community arrived at a consensus a long time ago that tobacco use is extremely harmful and must be ended in the interest of public health. Several measures were progressively implemented, resulting in a situation where tobacco companies are running out of markets and marketing strategies.
Unlike a couple of decades ago, a child growing up in Kenya today cannot name a single cigarette brand. It is rare to find anyone smoking in public, and the glamour associated with cigarette smoking has been replaced by disapproval and even disgust.
OSTRACISED
How was this achieved? Firstly, evidence-based policy measures were championed that ostracised smoking and created public messaging discouraging smoking. Laws were then passed penalising smoking in public and exposing others to cigarette smoke. Health workers were required to enquire about smoking history and to discourage their clients from smoking.
Law enforcement agencies were encouraged to strictly implement the laws and policies against smoking, and smokers gradually found that they were not welcome to indulge freely in their favourite pastime. The results are dramatic. Cigarette stubs disappeared from our sidewalks, the air in restaurants and pubs is cleaner, and as a result less people are exposed to cigarette smoke than, say, 10 years ago.
SCEPTICAL
As a result of these measures, it is conceivable that we will completely eliminate cigarette smoking in our generation, despite setbacks due to other smokeable stuff like shisha. Additionally, the lessons learnt from the tobacco control measures can be applied successfully to other vices we would like to abolish, as long as political will is guaranteed. One such vice is corruption.
The main difficulty with eradicating corruption in this country is the lack of political will. Today, it seems that most state agencies are steeped in corruption, and even thrive on it. Whoever attempts to do things correctly ends up frustrated and even looked down upon. Kenyans have, therefore, become extremely sceptical about any government declarations against corruption and will chuckle knowingly every time a “war on corruption” is declared.
It will take strong political will to nail corruption, on the same scale as that which was deployed against smoking in public places.
LEGISLATION
With political will, a public health approach has a great chance of eliminating corruption in one generation. We already have policies and legislation criminalising corrupt acts. All that is needed now is a review and harmonisation of all anti-corruption policies and legislation to make it easier to implement and enforce them. Once this is done, the next step would be to implement those policies and laws using existing infrastructure.
It must be made very clear that no one is above the law, and that the government will not allow anyone involved in corrupt acts to continue with their lives uninterrupted. Investigations will be swift and those found culpable will be relieved of their positions, quickly charged in court, convicted, and punished to the fullest extent of the law. Inevitably, some action involving powerful people close to the powers that be will be necessary. The numerous big names mentioned in hushed tones whenever we discuss corrupt deals must be brought to book to demonstrate the government’s seriousness.
CONSEQUENCES
Aside from quick “diagnosis” and “treatment”, dealing with corruption will require prevention as well. Promoting a corruption-free environment by encouraging open and transparent systems in all public work-spaces is a key aspect in this strategy. While we pay lip service to this, we have not seriously instilled a corruption-free culture in our public service. Finally, to prevent corruption, we must have clear and transparent systems for all public processes to eliminate opportunities for corruption. Like most criminal activity, corruption thrives where there is opportunity to profit from it without any adverse consequences.
If we were serious about eliminating corruption from our public systems, we would employ the same approach that has eliminated smoking from public places. My point today is that in Kenya, our problem might be that we don’t really want to eliminate corruption. We just want it to work to our advantage.
Atwoli is an associate professor and dean of Moi University School of Medicine. [email protected]
