Report Names Most Corrupt Gov’t Institutions in Kenya

A new report by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has revealed the most corrupt government institutions and departments in Kenya.

The report dubbed National Ethics and Corruption Survey 2018, which was released on Tuesday, ranked the Registrar of Persons as the most corrupt institution in the country.

The main function of the Registrar of Persons, which is under the Ministry of Interior, is documentation of births and deaths.

The survey ranked the institution as the most corrupt at 19.9 percent, followed by public hospitals (19.7 percent) and police (17.2 percent).

The Chiefs Office was ranked fourth at 16 percent while the Lands Ministry at 6.3 percent closed the list of top five most corrupt institutions.

The average bribe paid, however, declined from Sh5,058.75 two years ago to Sh3,833.14, according to EACC Chairperson Eliud Wabukhala.

“This was the lowest recorded since 2012,” the report states.

The Kenya Police Service emerged as the most corrupt State agency at 39 percent followed by Kenya Power (12 percent) and the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) at 11 percent.

For ministries, CS Fred Matiang’i-led Interior and Coordination of National Government was most corrupt followed by Heath, Agriculture, and Lands.

Respondents who took part in the survey mentioned corruption as the top challenge facing Kenya at 49.4 percent followed by unemployment (36.8 percent), poverty and famine (27.2 percent), and high cost of living (16.9 percent).

Others are bad infrastructure (13.4 percent), unfavorable economic conditions (11 percent) and insecurity (10.2 percent).

The survey was carried out from November 16th to December 19th last year and covered all the 47 counties with 5,942 respondents and 10 key informants taking part.