President William Ruto has announced that corruption cases in the Country will be taking six months to be concluded.
While speaking in Mombasa on July 26 during the issuance of grants to Kenya Marine Fisheries, Mombasa, Ruto said corruption cases will be dealt accordingly and in time to help clear the backlog.
“We have agreed that we will be changing the law on corruption cases. There is no need of such cases taking 10 years but instead we will be pushing them to six months,” Ruto said.
“Those who loot the government and taxpayers’ money must face the law as early as possible if found guilty.”
The Head of State said the corrupt individuals must face the law so that the government can deal with the challenges of corruption and of integrity in Kenya.
He said corruption cases taking too long to be prosecuted and deems it almost impossible to end corruption in the country.
“There are some people who are overpaying themselves and we will unite to ensure taxpayers’ money is used efficiently,” he stated.
“We are going to tackle the challenges of tax expenditure and minimize the resources and money we spend on tax issues, to allow us to save money for national development and repay our debts.”
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Corruption has significantly slowed Kenya’s economic growth by diverting funds from productive economic activities.
It is pervasive at almost every level of society, affecting everything from police officers on the street to public procurement practices in government ministries.
For example, in the construction of Kenya’s $4.7 billion (Ksh 655B) railroad, multiple reports indicated bribery, nepotism, and extortion.
Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index currently ranks Kenya 126th out of 180 countries.
A report in March by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative stated that corruption is a significant barrier to doing business in Kenya.
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The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in their National Ethics and Corruption Survey Report, 2023 released on March listed the Police, Immigration Department and Registrar of Persons as government departments perceived as most prone to corruption, with greed and desire for quick services as major causes of corruption in public service.
In the survey five out of 10 perceiving that corruption has been increasing and that giving and receiving bribes, abuse of office, favoritism, nepotism and deliberate delay in service provision are perceived as the leading forms of corruption and unethical conduct in public service.
Besides, the continued appointment of individuals with tainted integrity and persons accused of corruption to the helm of public service administration at both national and county levels continue to undermine the fight against corruption.
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