Wednesday March 16, 2016
Muranga Governor Mwangi Wa Iria.Photo/File
Eighty-one per cent of respondents in a survey by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission stated that corruption, poor service delivery, tribalism, shoddy implementation of projects and embezzlement of funds are rampant in the counties.
Garissa topped the most corrupt county governments followed by Kisii, Nyamira, Narok, Marsabit, Murang'a, Bomet, Nairobi, Kiambu and Homa Bay while public officers in Nandi, Kericho and Machakos were perceived to be the least corrupt.
"Further analysis by county reveals nine out of 10 respondents in Garissa county observed some form of corruption being practised by public officers followed by Kisii (78.99%), Nyamira (75.23%) and Marsabit (71.01%). On the other hand, Nandi (4.95%), Kericho (5.62%) and Machakos (6.86%) recorded the least observations of corrupt practices in public offices," the National Ethics and Corruption Survey 2015 says.Murang'a topped the counties with the highest average of times a bribe was demanded by a county official.
It was followed by Embu, Bomet, Kisii , with Wajir coming as fifth most likely county where officials sought bribes.
In Elgeyo Marakwet for instance, it was noted there is negative ethnicity, where non Keiyos or Marakwets are marginalised by not being favoured in bursaries. A case in point is a Luo man married to a Kamba whose children were denied bursaries yet they were bright.
The governor and senator are both from Marakwet so Marakwets are favoured in employment.
In Kakamega, there was procurement irregularities, bribery, abuse of office and embezzlement of funds between Sh5 million and Sh10 million in procurement offices of all county departments. This is attributed to high competition among traders and suppliers in procurement.
Bomet was noted for high wastage because of existing loopholes and lack of a monitoring committee to oversee the use of funds at the county government level. County government officials are also not protected due to the powers vested in governors.
West Pokot county leaders are accused of engaging in rampant corruption and acquiring plots in the county, Kitengela and Trans Nzoia with proceeds of corruption. The executives cited as the most corrupt are building apartments in West Pokot's Bendera area. School building projects and hotel for county assembly were only initiated to get kickbacks from the contractors.
The survey indicates nepotism is rampant at the Turkana government in the employment of county workers. Only those perceived to be politically correct are employed, some without being interviewed because they have bribed officials. Areas which voted in a person in office are more developed than others.