Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has identified human resources and procurement departments in the devolved units as areas mostly rocked by corruption.
An EACC Commissioner Mwaniki Gachoka has said recruitment of relatives, payment for work not done, use of revenue at source, payment of incomplete work, are among other malpractices identified in many county governments.
Gachoka noted that in the past seven years, the EACC has noted some major weaknesses, loopholes and opportunities for corruption and unethical practices that have been exploited leading to massive pilferage, wastage and denial of services.
The commissioner speaking at Murang’a County Assembly during launch of Corruption Risk Assessment on Tuesday, observed that in many devolved administrations there is a lot of nepotism in their workforce.
He said loopholes witnessed in the procurement process are also being used by unscrupulous workers to carry out corruption deals.
EACC, Gachoka said, has come out to embark on educating staff of county assemblies on how to follow legal procedures so as to avoid indulging themselves into corruption and unethical practices.
“Corruption and unethical practices have been the main obstacles in the achievements of the country’s development goals thus receiving negative coverage. We cannot turn a deaf ear on the public outcry on corruption that has impacted negatively on service delivery at the national and county levels,” stated Gachoka.
He explained that the commission is working out to prioritise corruption prevention as a key driver in mitigating the tendency of the vice in all government institutions.
“Systems and procedures of county assemblies should ensure efficient service delivery, accountability, responsible decision making and which leave no room for wastage and pilferage of public resources,” added the commissioner.
He said in the corruption risk assessment exercise, the EACC is aiming to identify and address systemic weakness, loopholes and opportunities that can be exploited to perpetuate unethical practices.
“So far we have conducted corruption risk assessment in 22 counties and we are glad to say that the senate recently acknowledged that the counties which are implementing our recommendations are advancing in setting up strong work systems,” Gachoka further noted.
He added; “We will deploy a team of four officers at Murang’a county assembly for seven days to conduct formal and informal interviews with the management and staff, analyze various documents, observe work processes and procedures and carry out spot checks in service delivery areas and projects.”
Meanwhile, the commissioner said the war against corruption is not politically instigated saying as a commission they are working on corruption cases reported.
“We work on facts and not all cases brought before us are genuine. We only act on cases with sufficient facts. Those saying EACC is politically influenced are wrong. The mandate of EACC is stated in the law.” Averred Gachoka.
By Bernard Munyao
