Cops tops on Kenya's graft list
2002-01-18 13:06
Nairobi - It will come as no suprise to Kenyans that their police force tops the list of bribe-takers in the first Kenya Urban Bribery Index released by Transparency International.
But they may not know that the six out of 10 urban residents who routinely bribe police to avoid mistreatment or denial of service end up paying what amounts to a "tax" of 2 670 shillings (about R385) a month or one-fourth of the average salary of the cop who flags them over to demand "something small for tea."
But, the survey says it's the ministry of public works that
demands the biggest bribes - an average of 37 500 shillings (about R5 470) - generally from contractors to award bids to slap yet another layer of low-quality blacktop on the country's dilapidated roads.
Employees of foreign embassies and international organisations
who can provide visas, refugee status or other services come a close second with an average payment of 36 800 shillings (about R5 380).
The results of the survey of 1 164 people conducted last April and May by the Kenyan branch of Transparency International were made public four days after President Daniel arap Moi announced the appointment of a three-man British team, run by the London-based Risk Advisory Group, to advise his government on how to tackle the corruption that was eating away at the East African nation.
Government has ignored solutions
Critics say there are enough laws on the books to combat
corruption, but they must be applied, and that the government has
already appointed several teams to study the problem, only to
ignore their conclusions or thwart their implementation.
In an editorial on Thursday, the independent Daily Nation said the government "has never convinced many Kenyans that it is genuinely ready to tackle corruption ... Experience indicates that everything will be done to ensure the present team does not turn any stone among the sacred cows in the corridors of power".
But TI-Kenya board member Ahmed Abdullah said the team shouldn't be surprised by the controversy.
"We urge the team members to get on with their assignment as
fast as possible, and we pledge our full co-operation, both
individually and collectively," said the former Central Bank of Kenya official.
Transparency International, a Berlin-based non-governmental
organisation, seeks to curb international and national corruption
and increase government transparency and accountability.
Benchmarks of integrity
John Githongo, head of the Kenyan branch, said the survey sought "to go beyond perceptions of corruption to provide benchmarks of integrity based on the actual incidence of corruption".
The study, which surveyed micro and small-business operators in the informal sector, people sampled randomly on the street and the corporate sector, was used to estimate the magnitude, incidence and direct financial cost of bribery in Kenya.
Githongo emphasised that the Kenya Urban Bribery Index was a
pilot study whose primary objective is to determine whether
corruption can be studied in a meaningful way.
Following the police on the overall bribery index of 52 public
institutions, the foreign embassies and international organisations and the private sector were the ministry of public works, the
immigration department, the ministry of lands, the Nairobi City
Council, the judiciary and the municipal council of the Indian
Ocean port of Mombasa. - Sapa-AP
- SAPA