The majority of Kenyans perceive corruption to be a pervasive problem in public institutions, a survey indicates.
The National Values and Principles Governance survey was conducted by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.
In 2015, the Interior ministry, through the Directorate of National Cohesion and Values, contracted Kippra to undertake a baseline survey on the status of national values and principles of governance outlined in Article 10 of the Constitution.
The survey, currently undergoing validation , shows that 79 per cent of respondents perceived corruption as rife. The National Police Service showed the least integrity with 81.5 per cent of those sampled perceiving corruption as a significant problem, whereas national registration of persons was gauged as one of the institutions with least pervasiveness in graft at 71 per cent.
“The county government institutions are also perceived to be more corrupt than the corresponding ones at the national level. This is an indicator of low levels of compliance with the principles and values of integrity accountability and transparency,” Kippra researcher Nancy Wafula said. County assemblies and county executives scored 81.4 and 80.2 per cent on the level of corruption. The National Assembly came fourth as the most corrupt, with 77.2 per cent.
It is followed by the Judiciary, with 76 per cent, the national executive 73.5 per cent. Seventy-three per cent of respondents said corruption is significant in the education sector.
The survey sampled 4,920 households from the public sector, formal and informal sectors, as well as NGOs in all 47 counties. It was conducted between January and April last year
Sixty-nine per cent of respondents indicated there is a deterioration in transparency in public institutions. “This suggests a relatively weak score for values related to accountability, transparency, rule of law and openness,” the survey shows.
The Judiciary was perceived to have the most effective checks and balances.
The survey also shows there is rampant nepotism within the public sector as opposed to the private sector.
Despite myriad problems relating to patriotism, partly emanating from weakness in compliance with proximate principles and values, the survey found out that 81 per cent of Kenyans considered themselves patriotic.