Nairobi, Kenya: The anti-corruption watchdog has directed all public servants to start keeping a record of gifts received during their stay in office.
In a revamped move targeting the 'big fish', Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) wants all accounting officers and chief executives of public institutions to open accounts for the exercise.
These accounts will maintain a register of gifts received by state and public officers serving in the entity, gifts given by the public as well as a conflict of interest register on the same.
"They should ensure that any state or public officer operating or wishing to open a bank account outside Kenya seeks the approval of EACC," said EACC boss Halakhe Waqo in a statement.
In relation to public entities with state officers, they should develop a specific leadership and integrity code for the state officers and submit them for approval by the EACC.
"They should undertake investigations into ethical breaches and take disciplinary action against officers in violation of the leadership act and where appropriate refer the case to EACC or any other relevant agency," he added.
Pursuant to the Leadership and Integrity act of 2012, the commission had developed regulations to operationalize various provisions of the Act which were approved by the National Assembly on February 2016.
This is after a gazette legal notice in 2015. Key aspects of the regulations include limitation on the types of gifts that a state officer can receive the maximum value of the gifts, and mechanism for the receipt, collection, storage and disposal of the gifts.
Others are grounds on opening and closing of bank accounts outside the country lodging of complaints, investigations and mechanisms of enforcement of the regulations.
"...public entities in both national and county governments are required to observe and implement the requirements of both the 2012 Act and the regulations," said Waqo.
It is a common culture in Kenya that whenever a public servant attends a function a token of appreciation is awarded for 'creating' time to come.
Earlier in the month EACC Chair Philip Kinisu had been faced with the challenge of explaining why the commission seems to avoid prosecuting public servants.
"Out of the 500 staff we have only less than 200 are investigators. It is therefore hard to expect water tight cases within the short timeline given to ensure justice is delivered. We need about 2,500 personnel," he noted.
