• Suba South lawmaker argues that the proposal will support the war on corruption.
• The declaration of the source will have to be made public.
Image: FILE
Public officers fond of dishing out millions of shillings in fundraisers could soon have to declare their source of cash to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
The Public Officer Ethics (Amendment) Bill, 2019, by National Assembly Minority leader John Mbadi seeks to compel any public officer who donates more than Sh100,000 in a harambee to declare the source of the cash to the EACC within 14 days of doing so.
The source will have to be made public.
The Suba South lawmaker says that the proposal will help end the culture of elected politicians and other public officers splashing bundles of money, mostly traced to corrupt activities.
Mbadi wants sections 13, 26, 28 and 30 of the Public Officer Ethics Act, 2003, amended to ensure that no money corruptly obtained finds its way into fundraising activities to hoodwink voters.
“The bill requires a public officer who contributes an amount exceeding Sh100,000 to a public function to file a return with the commission stating the source of such funds for the public record and requires the commission to make all declarations, clarifications, and returns made by a public officer accessible to the public,” the proposed amendments read.
The Sh100,000 capping, according to the proposal, will extend to any donation made by the spouse of the officer or dependent child under the age of 18 years on behalf of the officer.
Mbadi’s proposal comes against the background of a push by some clerics to have the church reject dirty money from politicians. It is viewed to be targeting Deputy President William Ruto who has been on a fundraising spree across the country, splashing millions in every fundraising. His critics have questioned the source of the fat donations.
One such donation that has left tongues wagging is the Sh15 million the DP donated to Murang’a High School on April 6, last year, towards the construction of a multipurpose hall.
In June of the same year at Mary Immaculate Primary School in Nanyuki, the DP contributed Sh3 million and a month later in another fundraising donated Sh5 million at Kairuri Catholic Parish in Embu county.
These are just but a few cases where the DP has contributed millions to schools and churches.
Ruto’s generosity has caught the attention of several national leaders, including opposition chief Raila Odinga who has publicly questioned the source of the millions donated every weekend.
Mbadi’s new proposal will heavily curtail Ruto’s fundraising activities, which have also been seen as the bedrock of his 2022 presidential bid.
Yesterday, Ruto’s close ally and Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei dismissed the proposal, saying it is a confirmation of "ODM’s mean nature".
“That is absurd. This country is free, and generosity is an integral value, which is a signature of the communal nature of our society. There is a difference between being mean and generous. That is the nature of ODM,” he said.
Molo MP Kimani Kuria, another DP’s ally, said Mbadi’s proposed amendment is politically motivated and is targeting some politicians ahead of the 2022 political contest.
He questioned why the proposed changes only cite public officers when many businessmen also splash huge cash in fundraisers across the country.
“Public officers are employees of institutions of whichever arm of government and secondly they are citizens. This means they are free to carry out any other business activity that could bring them income,” he said.
“If we are stopping the generosity and philanthropy of politicians — because I know that is targeting politicians — then we should do the same to businesspeople and every other Kenyan who is contributing money to one project or the other. I would support Mbadi’s amendment on one condition that it will affect all Kenyans.”
The bill also seeks to compel the EACC to physically verify the assets and liabilities of the public officer, spouse and dependent children and prefer actions against any discrepancy between the physical wealth and the declared one.
“We also seek to empower the commission to verify significant and unjustified changes in the wealth and documented lifestyle of such persons for purposes of initiating appropriate administrative or criminal proceedings,” Mbadi says.
He further seeks to amend Section 30 of the Act to compel the EACC to make accessible to the public wealth declaration of a public officer. Currently, wealth declaration forms of public officers are a tightly guarded secret.
Mbadi argues that the right to privacy with respect to the handling of wealth declaration forms has been an impediment in the war on corruption.
The proposed amendments aim at regulating contributions and ensuring they are not used to promote corruption and dishonesty.
(Edited by F'Orieny)