The Public Service Commission's annual report shows that 28,000 civil
servants did not declare their wealth, a 78 per cent increase over the
2005/06 period.
Already, the Teachers' Service Commission has issued orders for the
sacking of nearly 2,000 teachers next month for failing to obey the law.
A report by the Efficiency Monitoring Unit, an anti-corruption unit in
the office of the Prime Minister, says only 57 per cent of MPs have
been declaring their wealth.
The government enforcement of the law designed to help fight
corruption is running out of steam as the wealth declaration programme
ceases to be an annual event, said the EMU in a report.
The Public Officer Ethics Act, which requires all public officials to
declare their wealth on employment, twice a year while in service and
on leaving, was a key plank in the fight against corruption.
The declaration, started six years ago, was intended to discourage
public officials from using their positions to amass illegal wealth.
However, the wealth of senior government officials, public servants,
and MPs has remained a closely guarded secret, as their forms are not
available for public scrutiny.
President Kibaki is on record as appealing for the wealth declarations
to be made public and has also asked Parliament to amend the Act.
National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende said he has reminded MPs twice to declare their wealth but the response has been poor.
There is need for all public servants to be sensitised on the issue if
improvement on wealth declaration is to be achieved this year, said Mr
Marende.
According to the law, an officer who fails to submit clear declarations
on the status of his wealth is guilty of an offence punishable by a
fine not exceeding Sh1 million or a year's jail term, or both.
In 2005 to 2006, only 6,596 civil servants did not meet the deadline;
1,371 from the ministries, 3,413 from local authorities, and 1,812 from
parastatals.
The latest annual report shows that 18,125 did not submit declaration
forms from the 40 ministries, 3,160 from local authorities, and 7,275
from parastatals.
No action appears to have been taken against the defaulters.
Public Service Commission secretary Bernadette Nzioki, however, said
the figure in the report was published before the affected civil
servants were given the opportunity to defend themselves.
They defended themselves and their responses were dealt with
administratively. The rules demand that their salaries be stopped if
the explanations are not convincing, Mrs Nzioki said.
She defended the PSC, saying it was one of the most effective state
institutions which has won the regional medal for competence in on-line
service delivery and took the coveted prize from the Africa Association
of Public Administration and Management last year.
Declare wealth
It is not enough to receive and keep the declaration of wealth forms
for 30 years without mechanisms to monitor and counter check the truth
through an investigative authority. A new body to do that is being
worked on and some sections of the law has been amended, Mrs Nzioki
said.
The amendment of the Public Officer Ethics Act also seeks to empower
the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission to determine whether a public
officer has contravened the code of conduct and ethics. The agency can
now have access to declarations filled by any public servant.
TSC boss Gabriel Lengoiboni last week sent a letter to all provincial
directors of education indicating that 1,885 teachers from both primary
and secondary schools would lose their jobs.
Eight workers of the teachers' secretariat will also face the sack on the same grounds.
All directors of education will be required to give a report on why
the teachers failed to declare their wealth and indicate any other
disciplinary cases against them, Mr Lengoiboni said.
Rift Valley Province will be the worst affected when 801 teachers will
be sent home followed by Eastern and Nyanza provinces, with 268 and 255
teachers.
According to the head of the TSC Integrity division, Mr N. L. Lolgisoi,
wealth declaration was affected by the post-election violence. This
may, therefore, explain why the large number of teachers, especially in
Rift Valley, failed to comply.
Reports by Benjamin Muindi, Oliver Mathenge and Kenneth Ogosia
Daily Nation
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