KACC IS WORKING

The Kenya Anti Corruption Commission (KACC) has moved to assist organizations seal loopholes that encourage corruption through integrity testing programmes (ITP).

The ITP program will help institutions detect and curb the vice.

Speaking at the launch of the ITP at the University of Nairobi, the Acting Assistant Director in charge of Preventive Services Dr Arbogast Akidiva said among the areas being targeted is the procurement, cashbooks, award of scholarships in the case of public universities, and the transport sectors.

"We believe that the procurement departments, the cashbooks, the transport departments are the wet areas that corruption can easily breed," said Dr Akidiva.

Akidiva disclosed that studies have shown that 20 per cent of staff in any institution globally are responsible for over 80 per cent of corruption cases reported.

He said this is an indicator that the vice can be dealt with through targeting individuals known to be corrupt in an institution.

He said the poor performance of the Kenyan economy can be directly attributed to graft which he noted has made the country lag behind the Asian tigers that obtained their independence almost at the same time as Kenya.

Akidiva also called for inclusion of integrity and ethics courses within the school curriculum up to university levels so that people are able to detect the vice early and stop it

He further said KACC is also dealing with graft by setting up a proactive approach to discouraging corruption instead of running after lost funds once such cases have already taken place.

"We shall be visiting institutions randomly not to find fault but to see how the institutions are conducting business and advising them on how to prevent corruption before it occurs," he said

University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor Prof George Magoha said the institution was implementing a government directive to parastatals and government institutions to set up the ITPs to help deal with corruption.

He said the University would soon implement the directive but cited resource constraints in achieving the set objectives.