I believe in the war on corruption there is no antidote. I do not subscribe to the school of thought that vetting the procurement officers and heads of supply chain is a solution to the corruption problem. Corruption is a multifaceted issue which needs multipronged approach.
Do we have gaps in our laws and policies? Do we have appropriate structures in place? Are all institutions that are supposed to take a lead role in the war against corruption active? From where I sit, procurement officers are just one among many other individuals and institutions and that must be vetted. We as a country must holistically change the approach on how we fight corruption.
I believe in the lead role President Uhuru Kenyatta has taken in the fight against corruption as well as the speed with which the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji is approaching this matter.
However it cannot be only one institution. You cannot say because you have vetted one sector in the entire government, you have addressed the issue of corruption.
In my opinion, we really need to widen the net to other departments at both the national and county governments.
The journey has begun and as the procurement officers are being subjected to vetting, those who have been involved in corruption should also be held responsible. Vetting and lifestyle audits could be one way of preventing corruption but as we know, there have been mega scandals that have rocked this country and those behind the thefts of public resources must be held to account and stolen public resources should be returned back to the people of Kenya.
It takes two for corruption to take place, there is the giver and the taker and this war on corruption should not spare the small or big fish.
It is also time that we taught anti-corruption courses in our schools -from primary school level to higher institutions of learning in order to inculcate good values and morals in our people from a young age.
One thing which I will agree with President Uhuru is that a bigger percentage of corruption in any institution takes place if the procurement and supply chain officers are not persons of integrity.
Wario is the chairman of Labour and Social Welfare committee of the National Assembly. He spoke to the Star.