Studies of the Judiciary and the Attorney General’s Office
AfriCOG has commissioned studies on anti-corruption performance and financial management at the Judiciary and the AG’s office. The reports seek to monitor performance and profile transparency and accountability in the use of public funds as reported by the Controller and Auditor General from 1997 to date. The use of funds is a key indicator of overall accountability and transparency. AfriCOG further considers the allocation of funds in public institutions as a good guide to institutional effectiveness.
The upcoming reports follow a similar study entitled “Free for all? Financial mismanagement at the ECK”, published early this year. They are part of a series that seeks to add value to the anti-corruption and reform process by contributing to ongoing policy discussion on strengthening these respective institutions, as well as parliamentary oversight Committees such as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Public Investments Committee (PIC) and the newly-formed Implementation Committee.
Fibre Optic Project
Kenya’s submarine fibre-optic cable project was a government-private sector investment that required high transparency and accountability due to the significant public financial stakes and importance of telecommunications as a public service.
As such, and in keeping with AfriCOG’s mandate to monitor the use of public funds, we commissioned a study of the project from a transparency, accountability and public interest perspective. The study, which focused on the TEAMS project but also looked at the Seacom and EASSY projects, seeks to investigate the operational dynamics of the submarine fibre optic cable initiatives and illuminate the governance challenges involved.
Preliminary findings have been shared with Parliament’s Information and Communications Committee and a number of other parliamentarians. The study is being finalised for publishing.
Study of the Telkom/Safaricom Privatisation
As part of its efforts at researching on topical issues, AfriCOG carried out a study on the privatisation of Safaricom/Telkom. The findings highlighted issues of accountability that were presented to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which took the matter to the floor of the House through parliamentary questions after which a special audit of the privatisation process was commissioned.
The privatisation process brought to light transparency issues and the unknown risks that Kenyans were exposed to due to the lack of background knowledge and irregularities in the process. The study is being finalised for publishing.
Study of regulatory bodies
Good economic governance, both in the public and private sectors, is key to the development of any country.
In keeping with its mandate to monitor accountability and transparency in key institutions, AfriCOG is undertaking a study of regulatory bodies starting with the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), under its economic governance programme.
AfriCOG is preparing to publish the findings of these preliminary studies.
