President William Ruto's cabinet nominees have been put to task since Monday, October 17, to declare their wealth before the Committee of Appointments, chaired by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula.
However, what left many Kenyans in stitches is that all the nominees who have appeared before the committee have declared their net worth falling in billions and millions of shillings.
Currently, it is a legal requirement for every public officer to declare their wealth as required by the Public Officer Ethics Act, of 2003. The declarations assesses the financial categories of one's income, assets and liabilities.
Kenyans.co.ke looks at how wealth declaration was introduced in Kenya
In the Corruption Perceptions Index 2021, Kenya has been ranked position 128 out of 180 countries for corruption, tied with seven other countries, including Bolivia, Azerbaijan, Laos, and Paraguay
Corruption is prevalent and costly as it acts as a major setback for development and a barrier to economic growth within the country.
After the 2002 General elections that led to the late Mwai Kibaki becoming the third president of Kenya, several efforts were taken in an attempt to tackle rampant corruption.
Prior to 2002, the regime of the late Daniel Moi had been characterised by high levels of politically sanctioned corruption like the Goldenberg scandal and the massive accumulation of wealth by government officials.
In 2003, Kenya was among the first countries to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, which led to the introduction of the Public Officer Ethics Act (POEA).
The Act created a system of wealth declarations in Kenya and it became mandatory for public officers to declare their wealth and that of their spouses.
Before appearing for vetting, Cabinet Secretaries are required to declare their wealth in documents which are then presented to parliament during their vetting.
The Public Service Commission is expected to print and issue the prescribed form for the declaration of incomes, assets and liabilities to the authorized officers for delivery to individual public officers free of charge.
Further, the individual is expected to file the declaration forms indicating their income, assets and liabilities attached to them or their spouses and dependent children who are under the age of 18 years.
Additionally, the leaders are also required to fill out the wealth declaration forms once every two years, and the submission is done in December of every second year in office.
The declarations shall be retained for five years after the public officer ceases to be a public officer. In that case, the Commission will issue specific instructions on the cessation of retention of the declarations on a case-by-case basis.
The commission also requires all leaders exiting public service to also fill in their wealth declaration forms and submit them within 30 days after leaving office.
Additionally, the Act states that a public officer who fails to make a declaration or a clarification or who makes a false or misleading declaration or clarification may be prosecuted in a court of law or subjected to disciplinary proceedings. In that regard, the authorized officer or the Commission will initiate action.
Currently, Kenya has also established the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission EACC is charged with gathering information on corruption occurring in the Government and the Public Sector from a variety of sources.
