Roadside proclamations a bad strategy in war on corruption

While commissioning the Sh11 billion 10km Dongo Kundu by-pass in Mombasa last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta made another proclamation on the war on corruption.

He directed that a lifestyle audit be done on all public servants starting with himself. No doubt, that was yet another signal that the president means business.

We applaud the zeal that Mr Kenyatta has adopted lately as he tries to redefine his legacy that was quickly earning the dubious distinction of the most corrupt and where anything goes.

His decree on Madaraka Day that all Heads of Finance and Procurement department be vetted and the Executive Order requiring public corporations to publish details of tenders and awards from next month, will by no means advance his course.

No doubt, corruption is a risk to national security; it denies nearly 250,000 youth a job opportunity every year; those who engage in it divert much needed public resources for their own use; it stifles growth and makes doing business prohibitively expensive.

Yet for many frustrated Kenyans, fighting corruption has been a hit-and-miss affair: procurement officers have been sent away before in 2003; and wealth declaration forms filled before with minimal success; and presidents have declared an onslaught on the vice. Should Kenyans expect a miracle now?

Though we cannot assume that past failings should determine future success, it is the way President Kenyatta has gone about it that might undermine the fight. Those who had expected Mr Kenyatta to be ruthless on corruption have watched in frustration as scandals have engulfed his administration and are asking what took him so long to act?

And by choosing to use the political arena and resorting to roadside decrees, Mr Kenyatta has invited politics into a grave matter.

In truth, there is a lack of a coherent strategy and focus in this fight. This risks turning Mr Kenyatta’s crusade into a charade. For example, what are the rules of engagement; what tool will be used; and who will do the lifestyle audit on for example, him and other VIPs? For this war to be taken seriously, we ought to be guaranteed of verifiable outcomes.

Secondly, given the ravages of corruption on society, waging an onslaught didn’t just need political will, it needed to be anchored on a philosophy guiding. That is lacking.

Thirdly, did he anticipate any political fallout and how was that to be addressed? This is already shaping up into a succession battle rather than a fight to restore the soul of Kenya.

Indeed, the long shadow of his succession is looming large.  On its own, his succession possess the greatest risk to the fight by taking away the legitimacy and goodwill he so badly needs to create a coalition of the willing, a necessary ingredient in change management.