Will graft stain President's tenure?

Corruption has torn apart the social fabric of the country and is threatening to shut down the economy. The vice has refused to go away despite efforts by the civil society and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to curb it. Sadly, our leaders continue to abet corruption making it even harder to fight it.

In the recent past, the cancer of corruption has spread its tentacles.

The government has shown little commitment to prevent the vice. The revelation of loss of about Sh791 million from the NYS is a clear indication that corruption is deeply entrenched in all sectors of the country.

The cutting of lucrative deals in our parliamentary committees, the stashing of loot in foreign accounts and the current market bear run are indications of how deep corruption has pervaded the system. The economic downturn and the soaring prices of goods could make the country go the Greece way.

Conversely, corruption has been devolved too. Recently Bungoma County purchased wheelbarrows worth more than Sh100,000 while there was blatant flouting of procurement procedures in Embu County.

The money that changes hands on our roads cannot be overemphasized. Traffic police officers have been nabbed receiving bribes from motorists.

The Anglo-leasing, Goldenberg, De la Rue and the Grand Regency Hotel scandals took toll on Kenya after taxpayers lost millions of shillings. At the same time, the controversial purchase of premises in Japan by Kenya‘s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led to the loss of billions of shillings. The list of these mega scams is endless. This begs the question: How come the leaders who castigated corruption have turned into kings of the vice? Thus, corruption has proved a hard nut to crack as the mwananchi bears the brunt of the scams.

The war against corruption in government needs a multi-dimensional approach. The government needs to move with speed to stem the vice that is now threatening to taint President Uhuru Kenyatta‘s tenure. The East African Community should also come up with stringent laws to ensure prosecution of corrupt individuals.