Corruption
is endemic in Kenya, especially bribery of government officials by citizens seeking
public services or citizens who break the law and want to get away.
I
think I have a solution. Make corruption official. Call it something else, like
facilitation fee or goodwill or premium service levy. Encourage public
officials and citizens to declare how much they receive or pay. Make a
guaranteed commission to the public officer on bribes collected and have Kenya
Revenue Authority retain the balance as part of public revenue.
I
bet that receipts from corruption (premium service levy) could be bigger
than our annual takings
from tourism and agriculture combined. In a depressed economy, it is the only
growth sector.
If you doubt, look
at the life style of public officials; the homes, property, the cars they
drive, the schools they send their kids to and the restaurants they patronize.
From Miguna's account, one official in Mr. Odinga's office received over KES
1.5 billion in less than three years.
To balance the
budget and reduce the deficit, I think Finance Minister, Mr. Githae should look
at this seriously.
I couldn't agree more AA.,most recently here in Uganda,close to 18m euros meant for the rehabilitation of Northern Uganda was used to purchase swanky cars and palatial residences for members in the Prime Minister's office.I agree with you and I think the entire region should levy a tax on this ill gotten monies,we are missing out on a potential tax revenue cash cow.
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