Youth Should Demand positions held by 12,510 Ghost Workers

Youths demonstrating in Nairobi: www.africareview.com

The Kenyan government has been telling millions of Jobless youth that it cannot hire them because it has no vacancies and can’t afford to pay more people. But the youth have seen an opportunity.

Sometimes in September, the government ordered a biometric registration of staff both in the National Government and County Governments. The exercise unearthed a major scam as more than 12,500 workers failed to turn up for the biometric exercise.

According to a report released by the Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary, Anne Waiguru, of the 172,522 workers on the national government’s payroll, only 160,012 turned up for biometric registration.

This means that the government has been losing billions of shillings annually to non-existent workers, right? 

Following the revelation, President Uhuru Kenyatta gave an order to the Ethics and anti-corruption commission, the Anti-Banking Fraud United and the CID to investigate the matter.  This should be an easy job because the banks that process payments on behalf of the government should be having data on how the salaries were withdrawn and by who.

An opportunity for the Youth

Since the government had already budgeted for salaries of the 12,510 ghost workers who, presumably, were hired on a needs basis, it should not get rid of the positions, but rather employ some youth to fill them up.

Hopefully, more jobs will come up once colluding civil servants are identified, investigated, and sacked. In addition, most county governments are yet to submit their reports but we are hopeful that more ghost workers will be netted once those reports come in and this will translate to more vacancies for the youth.

Here the Youth Out

The Kenyan civil service is dominated by technology-shy and aged workers with very low academic qualifications. These mostly corrupt, Moi-era workers have personalized the civil service, systematically locking out the youth who are better trained, more transparent, and more tolerant to people from other tribes. But hiring ghost workers to fill genuine positions is just another thing.

Why should anyone hire ghost workers when the Country has millions of qualified but jobless youth? You may wonder.

President Uhuru Kenyatta rode on the change platform to sail to power and should do more to change the corrupt, Moi-era civil service and create more jobs for his friends – the youth.

By: Sheriff Mako On Monday, December 01, 2014

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The Deadly Vice that is Corruption in Kenya

It’s often distressing to see a filthily rich government official being mentioned in yet another mega corruption scandal. The have-nots are usually left wondering why an individual worth millions or even billions of shillings still finds it necessary to steal from the poor-majority public.

From what we have learned in the past decade or so, very few contracts by government agencies are truly above board.  It’s just last week when Kenyans were treated to news that a UK court was handling a case in which a British Company is accused of making corrupt payments to officials and employees working for Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) to obtain printing contracts. The company is alleged to have send millions of Shillings to the accounts of officials and employees of the two agencies.

Corruption is not only tied to the high ranking officials, No! Even junior officers practice it. The vice is so deeply entrenched in the society that it will require a lot of effort and sheer will to bring it down. Existing oversight authorities are neither equipped nor funded well enough to detect the vice in all its forms or areas where it occurs.

Is this how corruption evolves?

There is no Kenyan who joins the public service with a corrupt mind. The vice is passed from other workers alongside other skills required to function in the workplace. Junior government officers, police included, are rarely paid sufficient enough to meet all their living costs. Therefore, asking for bribes and getting involved in other illicit deals is usually excused as an attempt to supplement the meager earnings.

However, just as repeated using of anything that offers some reward results into addiction, the junior government officer becomes amazed at how easy one can become rich by stealing from the public. This transforms from a justifiable attempt to supplement earnings, to a habit, and finally an obsession. Money earned through illicit deals is rarely put to good use and the corrupt official must keep it streaming in. Stealing from the public never ends, even when such officials are promoted to highly rewarding positions. Their rising social economic status requires more money to sustain high lifestyles and much more in the bank to secure them financially. For an individual ordained in this practice, there is no end to stealing as long as an opportunity presents itself.

Corruption is convenient

Bribery is very common partly because it is very convenient. For instance, when a policeman stops a speeding driver, he or she is supposed to arrest him and take him to the nearest police station, then to court. This can take as long as two days and cause huge financial losses to the driver, often in court fines and lost business. To avoid all these you just need to give the arresting police some money, like 2000 shillings. Who will not go for that? This happens all the time in Kenya.

However, the police have taken it to a new level, arbitrary arrests are a common place, and they are carried out whether one has actually gone against the law or not.  For instance, when walking in Downtown Nairobi at night you’ll likely be caught in a police swoop. The police do this because they know even if you are innocent, you will find it easier to bribe the police to let you go, rather than spend a night in the dreaded police cells or go to court to prove your innocence.

It’s not only the police, bribes are offered and taken virtually everywhere.  If you want a service to be expedited you give a bribe. If you want a driving license and you not ready to wait for two months, you give a bribe. In some instances, even when you are clearly guilty and have no chance of winning a case, giving a bribe will likely turn things in your favor.

Money runs tings here!

Things are changing

There are genuine efforts by the government and other stakeholders to address corruption in Kenya. However, there is so much that needs to be done. There is no doubt that corruption benefits a few at the expense of millions.

I will write about the real effects of corruption soon! 

By: Sheriff Mako On Wednesday, November 26, 2014

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