STRADDLING BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ACTIVITIES THE NDEGWA COMMISSION IN RETROSPECT

Kenya's Two Development Challenges
Although Kenya faces many development challenges, two of these stand out prominently. One is the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS; the other one is corruption. Both have a bearing on existing moral norms and therefore relate to the core of Kenyan society. There is now considerable general knowledge about the disastrous consequences of the HIV/AIDS pandemic that is depleting Kenya's productive population, has increased the pool of dependants, created child-headed households and reduced life expectancy.

AIDS is also putting to test traditional trust arrangements and its prevalence has already begun redefining the concept of households. AIDS is likely to change the structure of the Kenyan society and will make it very hard for Kenya to realise it economic growth targets and pursue its development dreams. Unfortunately, the forces of habit have not permitted application of this knowledge in bringing about appropriate behavioural change. Yet such change is an absolute necessity in addressing this formidable development challenge of our time.

The Corruption Challenge
Unlike AIDS, there is less shared understanding about the undesirable consequences of corruption, perhaps because these consequences are less obvious. Social scientists argue that corruption is a response to a particular regulatory and policy environment. But does this argument hold water? In the past it was indeed possible to argue that government's control over producer and consumer prices, foreign exchange markets and import licences restricted the availability of goods, services, and business opportunities. These controls therefore created opportunities for extracting favours from those needing such goods and services. As a consequence it was possible, for those charged with the provision of public services such as justice and communication, to create artificial shortages and scarcity-related premiums that could be extracted through the demand for bribes.

But even though most economic reforms that Kenya pursued under structural adjustment led to the removal of these controls, there is still evidence of service stretching in the judiciary and in some of the public corporations that supply specific services. It can even be argued that, even if the judiciary were to be fully streamlined and the remaining state corporations privatised, corruption would continue unabated.

In other words, the reasons for increased corruption are not restricted to a poor regulatory and policy environment. What we are seeing--and this is significant—is that corruption in Kenya has found residence in the country's moral norms and has therefore become foundational. The evidence for this is that a significant proportion of Kenyans now engage in corrupt practices instinctively. How did we get there?

The Ndegwa Commission Recommendations: a Contributing Factor
Corruption, like other vices, has its own momentum. Although it eventually becomes institutionalised into a norm, some of the initial spurt was generated by the recommendations of the Ndegwa Commission on Kenya's civil service, released in 1971. The recommendations paved the way for public servants to engage in business. It was argued at the time, that allowing public servants to engage in business was an important strategy for indigenising the business sector that was until then dominated by foreigners.

In official circles, the recommendations were viewed as an important complement to other efforts made to Africanise the Kenyan economy. Africanisation was politically appealing because it was seen as a vehicle for redressing racial disparities and encouraging the development of a more inclusive society. But it is important to note that, even though the Africanisation of the civil service was largely successful, efforts to Africanise the business sector have been disappointing.

Recent studies have shown that African entrepreneurship is still only most prevalent in the periphery of the corporate sector such as in informal, small-scale activities. The cream of the corporate sector is still in the hands of a small group of non-Africans resident in Kenya. The Africanisation objective of the Ndegwa Commission was therefore hardly achieved, at least not as far as the business sector is concerned.

Conflicting Interests
Be that as it may, the Government's acceptance of the Ndegwa Commission's recommendations permitted public servants to officially straddle between public service and the private sector. Towards the end of the 1970s, there was a hue and cry that this arrangement, which was quickly becoming common practice, encouraged abuse of public office. Although civil servants were repeatedly cautioned against engaging in private activities that conflicted with public responsibilities, this caution was generally hollow.

Every single involvement of civil servants in private business inherently conflicts with the requirements of public service. Allowing civil servants to straddle between the two sectors not only failed to achieve its primary objective of promoting African entrepreneurship but also confronted public sector workers with a moral dilemma: it brought into focus the tension between social and private gains. Given a choice between the two, it became easy for public servants to choose private gains above societal gains.

Corruption's Consequences
Recent research has revealed a high incidence of civil servants engaging in business. Straddling between the public and private sectors is therefore common and perhaps increasing. Although a result of the recommendations of the Ndegwa Commission, this increase is also partly an outcome of growing dissatisfaction with public sector salaries, uncertainties related to unclear retrenchment rules and preparation for retirement. Given the official sanction of straddling, civil servants do so with impunity, dividing and diverting loyalty, reducing the overall performance of the public sector and removing the incentive for pursuit of excellence within the civil service. One outcome of this state of affairs is that there are very few pure civil servants in Kenya. Even though many are on full time appointment, the temptation to treat public sector jobs as part time is incredibly great. Extensive straddling is also symptomatic of the increased reduction in public morality, and general abuse of public office. When public sector workers use public offices and facilities to transact personal business, the moral basis for defining rights over property evaporates.

There are also important secondary consequences of straddling. One of these is the demonstration effect that translates into a general failure to respect public property. In a country where civil servants can officially engage in business, dishonesty is likely to not only thrive but also become the rule of the game. The development of appropriate work ethics becomes an uphill task. Straddling and corruption seem to enforce each other. Successful straddlers encourage those less successful to keep trying. When straddlers dominate a public service, the association between earnings and official effort disappears. Another consequence is the development of a feeling that it is not necessary to account for the use of time. This feeling undermines the foundation for honest dealings since honesty can no longer be assumed or demanded. Where honesty is rare, mutual trust is even more rare so that relationships and interactions become a game whose outcome is very uncertain. Little wonder that Kenyans are so much preoccupied with the present and that they discount the future so heavily.

---

A JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CONCERN
Published Quarterly by DR. GERALD J. WANJOHI
Likoni Lane - P .O. Box 32440 - Nairobi - Kenya
Telephone: 712632/311674/312822

---

The Online publishing of WAJIBU is by Koinonia Media Centre.

---

GO TO WAJIBU HOMEPAGE