Corruption as a reason why many nations fail

-Editorial

Corruption jeopardises lives, plain and simple, said a statement issued by Chiefs of Mission of Kenya’s main donor community last week.

This statement and a Special Report in our sister paper Standard on Sunday confirms what many have considered the elephant in the room especially with regard to the presence of illegal immigrants in the country.

Media exposés have detailed how easy it is to cross over into Kenya from Somalia by bribing the border control officers and the policemen on the roadblocks all the way to the capital. In an incident broadcast on KTN, the investigative duo of John Alan Namu and Mohammed Ali walked into the city with lethal weapons. It could have been any criminal.

How did that happen, one might ask? Corruption, plain and simple.

Insecurity is one of the many economic and social consequences of corruption.

In their book Why Nations Fail, development economists Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson outline the origin of prosperity and poverty.

No doubt, corruption stunts growth and impoverishes millions, especially in Africa.

But the bottom line is that corruption thrives because of weak institutions.

The drafters of the Constitution that was adopted in 2010 acknowledged the fact that power and corruption and impunity were inseparable and designed a system to disperse power from the centre.

It may be too early to judge if this is effective.

In truth, in Kenya like many developing countries,  extractive institutions have hobbled social development. Extractive institutions are those where leaders holding influence aim to make money.

In Kenya, Parliament is one of those institutions. The recent allegations of cash for questions is a pointer of a deeper problem than earlier thought. 

It is no wonder that critical legislation that would improve the lives of the people ten-fold do not find their way to the floor of the House. 

The Judiciary is undergoing reforms, and so is the police. These are efforts no less significant to arresting the culture of corruption.

There are those who will want to downplay the scale of corruption and apportion blame elsewhere.  It is tempting for them to remind the donor nations pointing at the establishment that four fingers point back at them.

But then the contrast is there for all to see. In rich countries, say Acemoglu and Robinson, individuals are healthier, live longer and are better educated and have many options from vacations to career paths that those in poor countries only dream of. They drive on roads without potholes and their governments provide services in healthcare, infrastructure and law and order.

Contrast that with the situation in the country.  It is encouraging that President Uhuru Kenyatta is keen on uprooting the tree of corruption that has been nurtured and watered in the five decades since independence. Taking on the bureaucratic contortions of central government and the maddening inefficiency that breeds corruption is no easy task. All must make it their business to tackle the hydra-headed monster called corruption.

With the devolution taking root, it means that some of this rottenness will be devolved as well.

But a vigilant public aware of what it forgoes when corruption takes root, must not allow this to happen.