No nation can develop with corruption. Corruption eats everything like a locust, makes the system fail, makes people lose confidence in established systems and retards services.
This is, unfortunately, the path Kenya is on. If crackdowns were to be done in many of the government institutions the way it was recently done at Kenya Revenue Authority, it is likely so much would come to the fore.
For years there have been complaints on KRA officers that President Uhuru Kenyatta asked for a lifestyle audit on its officers. If the same was to be done on the police force starting with traffic police and other sensitive government departments, the country would make a huge discovery at how much corruption exists, and subsequently, weed it out.
The change of the Sh1,000 note means if managed well, it could weed out some of the corrupt proceeds. There is wealth stored in safe havens away from Kenya. It is, nonetheless, a good start. Part of the missing links in fight against corruption is more stringent laws to deter the vice and recovery of ill-gotten proceeds. Laws should be introduced to further seal the loopholes and strengthen multi-government agencies to help deter and fight corruption.
Besides the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the laws should be beefed to give the DCI, the Central Bank through surveillance of banks and accounts, the Asset Recovery Agency and National Intelligence Service more teeth to crack down on the corrupt.
Corruption endangers the nation and destroys us all. The corrupt people make it difficult for the country to survive by giving criminal networks easy access to the country to cause harm through such acts like terrorism. The fight can be won, we just need commitment.
Nairobi
