Private sector seeks end to corruption

Arch Lee Karuri,Co-Convener (left) and Engineer Patrick Obath ,Co-Convener (Private sector) address the media during the Multi-Sectoral Initiative Against Corruption at the InterC ontinental hotel,Nairobi. [Elvis Ogina/Standard]

Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) has partnered with the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) to host Africa’s first conference on business ethics.

The conference comes in the wake of runaway corruption on the continent. In Kenya, according to a recent Kepsa report titled, Corruption Risk Mapping in Kenya’s Private Sector, 85 per of those polled reported that graft was fueled by private enterprises and that no sector was immune.

Corruption was also found to be rife in the small and medium-sized companies.

Financial losses to business due to the vice were also found to be staggering, with 22 per cent of businesses losing between Sh100,000 and Sh500,000 annually.

It is on this basis that concerned actors are putting together a Pan-African platform to look into the graft issue.

Kepsa Foundation Chairman Lee Karuri (pictured, left) said the two-day Africa Business Ethics Conference (ABEC) to run between June 25 and 26 is aimed at raising standards of business practice for efficiency to drive cross-border trade, business growth, and economic stability.

Practical solutions

“Despite efforts being made to curb the vice, Africa is making insignificant progress towards eradicating corruption,” he said.

However, Mr Karuri said ABEC will bring together concerned stakeholders to explore practical solutions for the private sector in Africa to combat corruption.

CIPE Country Director Ben Kiragu said the symposium will be part of the ongoing efforts around the Ouagadougou Declaration that was developed to bring together the private sector, government and civil society to find new ways to address societal problems. He said the conference will feature renowned international and local speakers with extensive experience in building and managing ethical businesses.

They include Adrian Kenya Chairman Patrick Obath, Jubilee Holdings Regional Chief Executive Julius Kipng’etich, Milestones Resource Solutions Chief Executive Fatma Elmaawy, among others.