Monday, January 21, 2013

Anti-graft body will not vet aspirants


By Rawlings Otieno
NAIROBI,KENYA: Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) will not vet nominees of various political positions for the March 4 polls.
EACC vice chair Irene Keino said the Commission’s powers were clipped in the watered down Leadership and Integrity Chapter that left the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as the only body mandated to bar the candidates from contesting if they have questionable character.
“We as the commission can only recommend to IEBC but we cannot stop a candidate from contesting. However, we will look at the party lists and make recommendation to the electoral body,” said Keino.
Speaking during the sidelines of the swearing in ceremony of the EACC Chief Executive, Keino said that even though candidates could lack credibility and does not meet the threshold of the leadership chapter, the sole decision lies in the hands of IEBC to hand down the axe on such individuals.
She said that the commission had defined some of the disqualifications to include corruption charges, dishonesty, people removed from public office and, among others, those who lack moral and ethical standards.
A candidate contesting in the coming General election is expected to state if they have ever been engaged in dishonesty in the conduct of public affairs, abused public office, giving false information to the public, wrongful conducts for personal benefit, misuse of public resources and discrimination of other people.
Others include failure to declare wealth by those who have worked as public officers, breach of Public Officer Ethics Act and those who have ever been convicted and sentenced for imprisonment for a period of at least six months.
The commission had also set a December 21 last year deadline for all aspirants of elective posts to fill and submit self-declaration forms for the commission to clear them to run in the elections.
After the parties primaries, EACC will now compile a report and submit it to the IEBC by end of January to determine if candidates meet the integrity standards required to vie for elective positions in the March 4 polls.
The newly sworn in EACC Chief Executive Halahke Waqo said that he will work within the law and activate the fight to return public looted wealth.
“I know I have an uphill task but I want to promise that I will work within the law and activate the fight against corruption in the country,” said Waqo.
He said that the war on corruption will not be fought alone but by those charged to spearhead to restore the confidence on the Kenyan people and stamp out the vice.

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