The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has launched its Strategic Plan 2023-2028 which seeks to tame corruption by going after big and small fish involved in the vice. Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi speaking during the launch on Tuesday emphasized on the need for everyone’s input in fighting corruption. He noted that the launch was a submission that EACC is an important pillar for good governance, leadership, and integrity. Mudavadi further stated that high levels of efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of public services could not be achieved with tolerance of corruption and unethical conduct. He referred to the Leadership and Integrity Act which barred public servants’ personal interests to conflict with and overriding their official duties. ‘This act creates the EACC’s oversight standard of integrity and ethical conduct of not only the leadership of the commission but also demands that the commission does not allow state officers to disregard the values, principles of chapter six of the constitution on the discharge of their duties,’ said Mudavadi. EACC’s newly appointed Chairperson Dr. David Oginde wondered why as a country we talked so much about corruption but seemed to not want to do anything about it. He noted that the drivers of corruption were impunity by officeholders, greed, and society in general encouraging the corruption culture. Oginde voiced that their experience in asset recovery and forfeiture of unexplained wealth had yielded positive results placing Kenya as a global model in the recovery of unexplained wealth. ‘Our Anti-Corruption efforts therefore are going to be focused on highly influential persons and highly exposed individuals. We are going to go for those people who are using their offices to steal Kenya’s resources,’ Oginde noted. He urged the government to consider allocating more resources for the realization of their strategic plan. Presiding Judge Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Division Justice Esther Maina and Auditor General of the Republic of Kenya CPA Nancy Gathungu who were both at the launch emphasized on the importance of interdependence among all stakeholders working together towards mitigating corruption. ‘As the Kenyan Judiciary we work hand in hand in supporting the realization of the EACC plan,’ said Justice Maina indicating that it was a testament to their dedication in ensuring justice was being served efficiently to all Kenyans. Gathungu reiterated that developing countries were losing about US$ 1.26 trillion annually through corruption, theft, bribery, and illicit financial flows. She further added that the responses to COVID-19 and other disasters had brought with them challenges of misuse, theft, and wastage of public resources meant for mitigation and recovery from disasters.
Source: Kenya News Agency