Politics and weak structures are the greatest hindrances to the fight against corruption in Kenya, Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has said.
While welcoming the lifestyle audit pronounced by President Uhuru Kenyatta, the former Cabinet Secretary said that accountability will not be possible when people politicise the fight.
She was speaking at London-based think-tank Chatham House where she was invited to give a talk as the vice chair of the Council of Governors.
"It’s (lifestyle audit) a big step forward. A huge problem in Kenyan politics is the pressure from families that want to benefit from their relative’s time in office. This is why the president has rightly opted for the audit," Waiguru told her audience.
She, however, noted that the
structures to ensure accountability in Kenya remain weak but the 2010 constitution was a key step forward.
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"Regarding accountability, a danger is that the fight against corruption becomes politicised and used by individuals to harm their enemies. Social media can be a key tool in the fight for greater transparency,” Waiguru said.
She added that if citizens lack civic education, this hinders their ability to demand accountability from government.
Waiguru said that County governments are engaging strongly in this matter as she lauded the steps made by devolution since inception.
She praised devolution on its inclusivity towards equality and gender stating that Kenya’s devolved system was brought into being to include those previously excluded: to enhance what could be called ‘Project One Kenya’.
“The current Jubilee government remains committed to making devolution work in Kenya. Central government assistance to counties has included capacity building, developing model laws, and conducting institutional reviews to ensure skills matched to mandates,” she said.
Waiguru also said that devolution implementation suffered few challenges during the first years following a contestation between central and devolved government, as well as within county governments over mandates and functions.
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On gender, Waiguru said that being a woman she faced challenges during her campaign over the fact that Kenyan women and girls, who have traditionally been marginalized in politics.
She added that Kenya is on the right track, as the first three women governors were elected at the 2017 elections.
However, Kenya is still lagging behind other countries in East Africa on women’s representation including Rwanda and Tanzania.
"I’m determined that after the next election, we have at least 11 women governors in place. An issue with getting support from male governors on this is that they think we are after their seats," Waiguru
said.
Waiguru said that the way to get support from male governors for a female candidate is to target those who will have completed two terms and can’t run again.
"But an issue with early endorsement is women are then exposed to a long and vicious time in the spotlight," she said.