Fight Against Corruption Is A War Of The Heart, All Should Come On Board
President Uhuru Kenyattas declaration of the fight against corruption as war of liberation gives Kenyans an opportunity to get rid of corruption in our country, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Chairperson, the Rt. Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, has said. Its a war of the heart, he said, and once we succeed it will be great for our country. . . Lets all join in this war to liberate our country. He made the remarks at the official opening of a High Level Workshop for the Formulation of the 2nd EACC Strategic Plan 2018 – 2023 being held at the Sarova Woodlands hotel in Nakuru.
The Chairperson welcomed the political will exhibited by President Kenyatta in the fight against graft. He drew parallels with the Biblical story of Prophet Nehemiah who, despite being a lowly person in the Kings Court, was convinced that he could do something for the broken walls of Jerusalem. We have to feel that we can do something for the broken moral fabric of our nation, he said, adding: I am concerned for the people who have dedicated themselves to building that wall. Lets us not feel discouraged.
Describing the situation as critical, the Rt. Archbishop noted that all things are aligned towards fighting corruption. Lets bring the people in together with us, he challenged the EACC Commission, executive management and departmental heads who are developing the Strategic Plan. There is no other time we shall have this kind of opportunity. As an agency lets seize this opportunity. His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta has helped by declaring it a war of liberation. Lets work together with all involved in combating corruption, said the EACC boss, the man shouldering the greatest responsibility as head of the agency charged with fighting graft in the country.
He pointed out that the Commission cannot do it alone as it was a collective responsibility. Lets do it together, he said, let us build a strong value system for the society.
Commenting on the Strategic Plan, he described it as a statement of commitment to Kenyans of our desire and dedication to deliver on our mandate of combating and preventing corruption and economic crimes and promoting ethical standards in the country.
It is the document that spells out the programmes we are going to roll out in the next five years to address the problem of corruption and unethical practices.
And at the end of the plan period, we shall be judged on the basis of what we have indicated as our targets, he said, emphasizing the need for the Commission to be creative and innovative in designing its strategies and activities.
For the last few years, we have seen a number of successful convictions and hefty fines for some of our cases finalized in court. However, the public is yearning to see more in the war against corruption and unethical conduct. We need to tackle mega corruption that results in loss of billions of shillings without fear or favour. The Strategic Plan needs to bring this out clearly.
However, he warned that the fight against corruption will not be won through law enforcement alone, saying that societal or cultural change is critical. To this extent, he advised, the Strategic Plan must provide for partnerships that will be critical in cultural transformation.
To that end, he said, the Commission will finalize a Partnership Policy for implementation and also increase engagement within existing partnerships such as the one with have with the Faith Sector and the Association of Professional Societies in East Africa among others.
He emphasized the need to put more effort on assets recovery, intelligence gathering mechanisms, prevention and public education so that we disrupt and prevent the occurrence of corruption and unethical practices. Further, he reiterated the need to look for ways in which people involved in corruption and unethical conduct are not elected or appointed into public office.
In a hard-hitting statement, the EACC Chairperson said that people who have stolen public money should not be allowed to enjoy the proceeds of crime and affirmed that, we have a responsibility to recover illegally acquired or unexplained assets. We need to task public officers to be transparent and accountable to the Kenyan public for their actions and omissions.
He asked the Strategic Plan Team to ensure a robust and effective performance management framework and quality management standards, to facilitate efficient and effective monitoring, assessment and evaluation of EACCs programmes and activities that are geared towards combating corruption and unethical practices. Our research agenda should be diversified, widened and deepened in scope to answer very critical policy, strategic and programmatic questions in combating and preventing corruption, economic crime and unethical practices in our county, he said. The Chair announced that plans to establish a National Integrity Academy were at an advanced stage. The academy will offer professional training internally and externally to our stakeholders in the public service, private sector and civil society, among others, including the East African region.
He called on the team to incorporate the Big Four Agenda, which was unveiled by President Uhuru Kenyatta to guide the development agenda of the country in the period 2018-2022. The Agenda focuses on affordable and decent housing; affordable healthcare; food and nutritional security; and employment creation through manufacturing. As the government increases budgetary allocation in these sectors, there are concerns that the realization of the Big Four may be hampered by corruption, he noted. To counter that, he emphasized that as a Commission we need to set our eyes on the four sectors and have mechanisms in place to ensure we arrest corruption and unethical conduct before they occur.
In his remarks, the EACC Secretary/CEO, Mr. Halakhe Waqo, said the Strategic Plan is critical in addressing the fight against corruption The workshop was attended by top level EACC officials, among them Commissioner Rose Mghoi M. Macharia, Commissioner Dr. Maalim A. Dabar, Mr. Michael Mubea, Deputy secretary-CEO-Technical Services, all directors, regional heads and the Technical Strategic Plan Committee.
EACC CEO Mr. Halakhe Waqo, addressing the participants at the strategic plan workshop in Nakuru.
The Commission is developing the Strategic Plan for Year 2018-2023 in line with the National Development Blueprint Vision 2030’s Third Medium Term Plan (MTP III).
Participants led by EACC Chair Rtd Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Commissioners, Management and staff take a group photo at the opening of the strategic plan workshop in Nakuru.
Posted on Friday, June 8, 2018
