Graft is Kenya and Kenya is graft. It has become, sadly, part of the national DNA. Bone lazy and incorrigible civil servants are our high priests.
Tireless Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has, yet again, released what will be depressing reading to even the most incurable optimists.
Her office has established that the government collects just about half of the Sh1.5 billion rent a year from the 56,000 housing units for which it receives rent.
The civil servants do not only fail to collect rent, they have not even reviewed the rents since 2001. Government houses are miles below the market rate. Yet in the past 20 years, house allowances for all cadres have been reviewed upwards every other year to reflect the cost of living.
All this indolence is borne of the confidence that no one will be made to pay. No one will be reprimanded. They might even bribe their boss to look the other way.
The government must clean the mess and even better still engage the service of rent collection agents, who of course will demand a commission, but will do the job.
Quote of the Day: “It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses, we must plant more roses.”
George Elliot
The English novelist died on December 22, 1880.
