State agencies on EACC radar as war on graft intensifies

The government has implemented a series of strategies to combat corruption, including strengthening investigating agencies and leveraging the support of National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs) stationed across the country.

Head of Public Service and State House Chief of Staff Felix Koskei said at the weekend that the government has resolved to change tack in tackling the menace which he says has derailed development in the country.

Koskei said various government departments have been having a series of meetings targeting areas that are prone to corruption such as public works, health, procurement and finance to come up with ways of ensuring never again will a government be defeated in fighting corruption.

“We will allow the investigative agencies to proceed with their mandate, EACC, DCI will continue with their mandate of investigating and getting to know what really happened in the circumstance that there was an issue of corruption,” Koskei said.

Internal Security Principal Secretary Dr Raymond Omollo also said the State Department had lined up various interventions to improve the capacity of NGAO officers to fight insecurity, corruption and other vices.

“As the chairs of the respective Security and Intelligence Committees in their jurisdictions, these officers have progressively cascaded the all-of-government approach to security and law enforcement,” Dr Omollo said.

Koskei added that the government had expressed its commitment to rooting out corruption in the public service as part of its efforts to enhance service delivery to her citizens.

Communication

He emphasized the importance of collaboration among the Executive, Judiciary, and Parliament to win the war against corruption, and urged the administrators to play a leading role in communicating the government’s stance on corruption at the grassroots.

According to Koskei, corruption was also rampant on the issue of land acquisition, registrations, and transactions, and called on the NGAOs to take charge and flag out individuals who exploit existing loopholes to fleece the citizens of their hard-earned monies.

“We are telling them (NGAOS) to take charge, ensure that you weed out those people who are tarnishing the government’s reputation by extorting, making documents disappear and by demanding money for government services to which mwananchi is entitled, free of charge,” Koskei said.

He made these remarks while presiding over a security meeting with senior government administrators at the Kenya School of Government (KSG), Lower Kabete.

The meeting was attended by PS Omollo, Immigration and Citizen Service PS Julius Bitok, 8 Regional Commissioners, 47 County Commissioners, and 372 Deputy County Commissioners among other senior officials.

During the discussions, the participants explored strategies to effectively combat corruption, which has infiltrated various government departments.

Moving into the next financial year, Koskei said that the government will focus on enforcement of zero-tolerance policy on corruption and the enhancement of service delivery to mwananchi at the grassroots.

Alcohol and drugs abuse

The Head of Public Service also emphasized the need for collaboration between provincial administration officials and citizens to combat the pressing challenges of alcohol and drug abuse among the country’s youth, and warned that any government official found colluding with and protecting the culprits would face disciplinary and legal action.

“Some few elements within the service have been put under pay roll by crooked businesspeople selling very dangerous alcohol and peddling drugs. We have agreed that we are going to focus on them and get rid of these people,” he warned.

The PS also noted that through the help of NGAOs, the Government has managed to recover over 100 firearms from civilians.

There are also plans for infrastructure upgrade, training and provision of mobility and logistical support through the Government Vehicle Leasing Programme.

Plans are also underway to operationalize the 28 newly gazetted sub-counties in response to the increasing demand for further decentralization of government services.