ANTI GRAFT

Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mutula Kilonzo is seeking support for the re-introduction of an Anti- Corruption Policy into the draft Constitution.




Mr Kilonzo regretted on Monday that the policy that would have boosted the fight against graft was omitted in the draft expected to be tabled in Parliament after its resumption on Tuesday.



He expressed fears that the war against corruption was threatened by the failure to entrench the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission into the Constitution.



"Corruption affects all of us regardless of our social status,’’ Mr Kilonzo said and urged fellow Members of Parliament to support his bid.



The Parliamentary Select Committee of which Mr Kilonzo is a member struck out the proposal last month.



Various stakeholders have however lobbied the Committee of Experts, which is currently working on the draft, to reinstate the Commission.



The Minister made the remarks when he opened a week-long Anti-Corruption Agencies Forum and Development of a National Anti-Corruption Retreat in Mombasa.



He said the new policy on graft allows the impeachment of a sitting President and Cabinet Ministers among other new regulations.



The Minister said the new policy on graft would enable the government to witness the recovery of billion of shillings pilfered through Goldenberg and Anglo leasing scams.



Mr Kilonzo said he was sure that the country's economy would have been much richer were it not for corruption. He called upon government institutions to rise and be able to meet corruption challenges at their respective institutions.



The Minister said there is a dire need for synergy in the institutional arrangements for fighting corruption.