This archive report was first published on 19 August 2019.
Leaders of the Economic Freedom Party (EFP) in Mandera County have urged the national government to take immediate action against corruption in the region. The call comes after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) declared Mandera the most corrupt county in the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Nairobi, EFP Chairman Isaac Abbey and Secretary General Abdullahi Gessey emphasized the need for the government to provide security to the region to facilitate a smooth and accurate census exercise. They also called on the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to act on reported cases of corruption in Mandera County without further delay.
According to the EACC's 2016/2017 corruption survey report, Mandera residents paid the highest bribes in the country, with an average bribe of Sh35,440. The report also revealed that Kisumu residents paid an average bribe of Sh26,762, while Busia residents paid Sh18,866.
Mr. Abbey reiterated that EFP supports President Uhuru Kenyatta's war against corruption and called on the government to implement measures to make semi-arid counties agriculturally productive. He cited Israel as an example of an arid country that produces a significant amount of food, which Kenya imports.
Mr. Gessey called on the national government to sit down with stakeholders from the Northern frontier and other arid lands to develop a Marshall plan to make these areas agriculturally productive throughout the year.
MP Abdi Mude and Major (Rtd) Hussein Abshiro also attended the meeting and called on the national government to improve security in the region, citing the recent attack and killing of a son and his father, both Police Reservists, by suspected Al Shabaab terrorists.
