FOOD FOR THOUGHT FROM KENYA

Back in 2003 the National Assembly of Kenya debated the matter of a Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament " Members of Parliament shall not be involved in corruption by giving or taking bribes, receiving favours or be abet in corrupt practices and transactions in the course of their public and private work" "Members are required to be transparent, have integrity, be incorruptible, honest, accountable for all their actions and be objective in their decisions" " As Members of Parliament we must lead by example. We must not only avoid corruption, but we also must be seen and perceived not to be corrupt". Finally there was a recommendation to establish an 'Office of Registrar of Members' Interests . It was stated that "the whole purpose of making a declaration in the register is for Members of Parliament firstly and secondly members of the public to know what Members of Parliament own so while participating in a debate in the House, it can be seen quite clearly that they are debating an issue dispassionately and that their personal interests are not coming to bear on their decisions and arguments" And as the African saying goes "if you preach water, you should not drink wine"  Sadly enough, however, in spite of all those good words, Kenya in 2010 is still at the very bottom of the 'Corruption Perception Index' listing of Transparency International. Indeed actions speak louder than words... but they did try!