Kenya continues to perform poorly in the fight against corruption, a new report by Transparency International (TI) indicates.
According to Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report 2019 released Thursday, Kenya ranked at position 137 out of the total 180 countries with a score of 28 points out of 100.
“Since 2012, Kenya has scored between 25 and 28, out of 100, having recorded a score of 27 in 2018, depicting slow progress in the fight against corruption,” the CPI report states.
The report shows Kenya is below the global average score of 43 points and the average score in the Sub-Saharan region of 32 points.
Kenya’s poor performance was attributed to among other things, failure to regulate funds used in financing campaigns during elections. This despite enacting the Election Campaign Financing Act in 2013.
“Governments must urgently address the corrupting role of big money in political party financing and the undue influence it exerts on our political systems,” said Delia Ferreira Rubio, Transparency International Chair.
According to the report, Kenya is at a critical point where the relevant arms of government tasked with the fight against corruption need to show real outcomes, to instill public confidence in the ongoing anti-graft efforts.
“Following the spate of high profile arrests and arraignments in court, anti-corruption agencies should therefore bolster investigations and prosecutions that will lead to convictions and the recovery of stolen public resources,” it reads.
T.I notes that the recent directive by the President on conflict of interest among public officials has the potential to escalate the success in the fight against graft if followed through.
In the East African region, Kenya and Uganda were ranked joint third with 28 points. Rwanda is ranked highest with 53 points followed by Tanzania with 37.
South Sudan and Burundi scored 12 and 19 points respectively.
Other African countries assessed in the survey include Ethiopia with 37 points, Zambia 34, Nigeria 26, Zimbabwe 24 and the Democratic Republic of Congo 18.
Top countries are New Zealand and Denmark, with scores of 87 each, followed by Finland (86), Singapore (85), Sweden (85) and Switzerland (85).
The bottom countries are Somalia, South Sudan and Syria with scores of 9, 12 and 13, respectively.
