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Integrity our Baseline

Speech presented by:

Hon. Justice (Rtd) Aaron G. Ringera, EBS

Director/Chief Executive

Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC)

During the National Secondary Schools Students Leaders Conference,

Bomas of Kenya

8 April 2009

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Distinguished Guests, Conference Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon,

It is a great pleasure for me to be here with you today in your national conference of student

leaders. I commend the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association for gathering us here

today to share our understanding and experiences on the conference theme “Unity in

Diversity.” Before discussing an aspect of your conference theme, I would like to make a few

remarks about the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC). The Commission was

established in 2003 when the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (2003) came into

force. The Commission is housed at Integrity Centre and our banner carries the phrase “Spear

of Integrity.” Therefore, my assigned topic “Integrity Our Baseline,” is most appropriate.

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In fighting corruption, the Commission uses the three-pronged mandate of law enforcement,

prevention and public education. Many Kenyans focus on law enforcement which involves

investigations into corruption and the recovery of ill-gotten wealth. Little attention is paid to

the prevention function that examines how effective and efficient the systems, procedures and

regulations are that govern our institutions. Sadly enough, the least attention is directed on the

education and research mandates. I will discuss in detail the education function in my

presentation.

In implementing its mandate, the Commission’s programmes and activities aim at

mainstreaming good governance, ethics and integrity in relation to how public institutions

manage taxpayers’ money and resources. The Commission and other agencies ensure that

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citizens get the best service through an accountable, transparent, equitable and responsive

process. We strive to ensure that both the people and the organizations they manage maintain

the highest level of integrity.

Perhaps it is necessary to define the term integrity as a way of helping us understand the

necessary characteristics conveyed by the term. A person of integrity is one who holds

strongly to a given set of principle or virtues that will include honesty, truthfulness,

trustworthiness, sincerity and loyalty. A person of integrity is consistent in thought and

behaviour. He will act in the same manner from one situation to another maintaining his

principles whether at home, work, in public or when alone. When applied to organizations,

the term refers to the wholesome, intactness or purity of systems, processes and regulations

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in relation to the mandate of the organization. It requires people to abide by the laid down

rules, regulations and codes of conduct.

As aspiring leaders, in the words of Kenya Vision 2030, society expects you to acquire

knowledge and skills and to develop acceptable attitudes and values that will transform

Kenya into “a globally competitive and prosperous nation providing the highest standard of

living for her people.” As the youth, you are expected to play an important role in the

development process of our country by virtue of the fact that Kenya’s population is

predominantly young with the age group 15 – 35 years accounting for approximately 38% of

the total population. In order to do this you must be people of integrity in all that you think

and do. Change only comes when people’s attitude and values change: not when their age

changes.

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to spend some time discussing the critical role education plays in preparing the

youth for national development. Any educational system and process should foster

empowerment, responsibility, and critical thinking among learners. Learners should be

encouraged to become active participants in their learning process and the governance

processes in their institutions and communities.

Education is the basic channel through which ordinary citizens are empowered to overcome

abject poverty, ignorance and underdevelopment in their communities. Therefore, citizens

have a right to information and increasingly will demand that their governments, educational

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service providers and managers must be held accountable in relation to educational provision.

In spite of the existence of an international convention advocating for Education For all

especially universal basic education, I note that millions of learners do not have access to

adequate and meaningful educational services. In this regard, countries may not be able to

meet the International Development Objective that aims at universal basic education in all

countries by 2015.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

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I consider UNESCO’s Four Pillars of Education namely: Learning to Know, Learning to Do,

Learning to Live Together, and Learning to Be as important guiding principles. The four

educational pillars capture the letter and spirit of your conference’s theme “Unity in

Diversity.” A learning environment brings together individuals and creates a community of

people who desire to improve their lot. It is a communal activity. Learning to Know looks at

the processes through which people get to learn – it is both a means and an end. Learning to

Do is the blending of the academic and technical knowledge on one hand and, the skills

necessary and sufficient to get a job done on the other. Learning to Live Together refers to

how people could overcome obstacles, their prejudices and biases towards other people who

do not belong to their groups or ethnic communities. It also encourages dialogue and working

together for the common good of all humanity. This approach focuses on the development of

new identities that overcome the limitations of our personal and communal lives. In Learning

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to Be education provides learners the opportunity to develop their God-given skills, abilities

and talents in order to grow to their fullest potential.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in our discussion, it may be useful to understand the link between

Education and Integrity. Over and above education’s role of equipping learners with

academic knowledge and skills, it plays a fundamental function in the development of

attitudes, beliefs and practices that we rely on in running our lives. Education is expected to

create safe, caring, respectful and productive learning environments. Teachers, administrators

and society work with young people in developing their social skills, emotional competencies

and other qualities of character they need in order to succeed in school, their communities and

societies.

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From your literature lessons, you will recall that writers create characters to carry out certain

roles in a story. In the works of Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Okot p’Bitek, Francis

Imbuga, and Wole Soyinka to mention a few, we learn about the world of these characters

through what they say about themselves and about others, thoughts about themselves and

about others, their actions or inaction in contexts of corruption and unethical behaviour.

These writers underscore the importance of fighting corruption which destroys social

foundations. The writers would like readers to understand that the characters displayed are

moral agents who must make value judgments as they interact with one another. To the

Greeks, the word character meant to “mark” an individual with approved qualities.

Education’s major purpose is moral formation and development through which society

expects learners to develop important moral dispositions, traits, values and virtues that are

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praiseworthy. The individual is marked out by particular traits, values, virtues and habits that

define who that person really is. Character is then deeply ingrained in a person’s personality

such that the person will react or behave in consistent and predictable ways in a given

situation. The individual will make decisions by choosing from a number of options. Such

decisions should always be taken in the public good.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since independence, Kenya has had several Commissions of inquiry into the Education sector.

The reports from these Commissions have ranged from the quality, relevance, cost and equity

of educational provision to ethical and moral concerns. With reference to the moral issues, it

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has been established that learners and their teachers have engaged in unethical conduct which

at times borders on criminality. We are aware of the rampant schools strikes in which public

property and lives have been destroyed. Mentions of sexual harassment abound. It has also

been documented that academic fraud and dishonesty are widespread leading to cancellation of

examination results. In the last four years, the Commission has received many complaints on

alleged corruption and unethical behaviour in the education sector. Other incidences of

corruption and unethical conduct include:

• Students bribing prefects to get preferential treatment

• Parents bribing school heads to get admission for their children

• Misuse and misappropriation of free primary education funds, bursary funds,

devolved funds such as CDF and LATF and other funds received from development

partners for specific projects

• Conflict of interest

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• Mismanagement of the textbook programme

• Education officers selling food meant for the school feeding programme

• Falsification of documents

Conference Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We continue to witness our youth behaving in the most uncivil and at times criminal manner

whenever they think they have a right to something. This is a very disturbing development. A

case in point is the national elections process last year that proved to be a traumatic

experience that Kenyans will take a long time to come to terms with. The youth of this

country engaged in widespread disruption of peace and order, wanton hooliganism and

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looting. They participated in acts of arson and the murder of fellow citizens. All this

happened in spite of households, the government, and donor community directing huge sums

of money into the education sector. The youth were instrumental in denying Kenyans their

basic inalienable rights. They have become the agents of destruction. How could such a thing

happen? Where did we as a society go wrong?

Various explanations have been given to account for this behaviour. That:

a. Poverty and Youth unemployment are some of the root causes of anti-social

behaviour,

b. Our education and training programmes do not have any direct relevance to the

political, economic and social realities, and

c. Erosion of traditional values and poor Civic and Ethics Education have resulted

in moral decadence.

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All these examples lead to the conclusion that our educational sector is undergoing a moral

crisis. We are confronted with a situation of total anarchy as a people – indeed, as a nation.

This cannot be allowed to persist.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Let me draw your attention to the Strategic Interventions in Education undertaken by the

Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission. The Commission has ensured that every sector of the

country is involved in the fight against corruption through its Education and training

programmes. We at the Commission have developed programmes and activities designed to

offer long term strategic interventions in governance, anti-corruption, ethics and integrity. The

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Commission offers education and training to the Public Service, Private and Civic Society

Sectors. The Commission continues to mainstream good governance and integrity content in

the training curricula of government institutions like the Prisons Service, Administration

Police and the Kenya Institute of Administration to name a few.

The Formal, Public and Sectoral Integrity Education Divisions in the Department of

Education implement these programmes on good governance, ethics and integrity. Our

strategic intent and focus emphasize that corruption must be fought by the Government,

Local Authorities, Non-governmental Organizations, Community-Based Organizations, Faith-

Based Organizations, the Private Sector and you the citizen. All this because, Good

Governance and Character count!

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In Kenya, we have tried to accommodate ethics education in the curriculum largely through

integration and infusion of content through carrier subjects like literature, language, arts,

history, social studies and life skills. Another important channel has been Co-Curricula

activities involving drama, music and sports. The Commission, through the Department of

Education, has been working closely with the Ministry of Education and its Semi

Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs) in the promotion of good governance, ethics

and integrity in our learning institutions.

In the last four years, the Commission in collaboration with the Ministry of Education has

trained education administrators, managers and supervisors such as Provincial Directors of

Education, District Education Officers and Quality Assurance Officers, Principals and their

Deputies on good governance, ethics and integrity. We continue to work with the Kenya

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Institute of Education on how to integrate ethics and integrity content in the schools and

colleges’ curricula. To this end, in 2007, we developed Curriculum Support Materials on anti-

corruption, ethics and integrity that will be used from kindergarten to Class 8. These materials

will be printed in this financial year for use in primary schools. Our collaboration with the

Kenya National Examinations Council has resulted in the Council testing on good governance,

ethics and integrity content in our national examinations.

Dear participants, you will definitely have heard songs and watched plays on corruption,

ethics and integrity. Since 2005, the Commission has sponsored an Anti-

Corruption/Ethics/Integrity special category in both the National Schools and Colleges Drama

and Music Festivals. We are very proud of the students who continue to devote their creative

minds and energies in calling Kenyans back to the path of integrity. We are also our proud of

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our collaboration with the Ministry of Education in advancing integrity in the education

sector. Ladies and Gentlemen, you will notice that what I have enumerated are largely

strategic interventions into the education sector. I would like to suggest that it is time we as a

country took the bold step of formalizing character and integrity education as a serious area of

study for all citizens.

Scholarship on governance demonstrates that the greatest hindrance to national development

is corruption and unethical conduct. Corruption is essentially an ethics concern. In order to

reverse the tide, it is critical to build on a firm knowledge based foundation. Consequently, the

Commission through its Education and Research mandates develops sound programmes that

are factual and knowledge based. We are developing a curriculum on good governance, ethics

and integrity for the secondary school and tertiary levels of education in our country. This

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effort aims at ensuring that learners engage with the critical and fundamental issues and

concerns in their localities, communities and society. The programme will use the youths’

abilities, giftings, intelligence and energy to instill a sense of social responsibility through their

participation in community based service programmes and activities. We hope to engage the

youth in a national dialogue from a knowledgeable and proactive position. Youth in this

segment have to be prepared to assume advocacy and change agency roles. You have to

become the interpreters and bridges on issues of governance and social accountability in your

communities. You must make Integrity Your Baseline.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as I conclude, it would be in order for me to make some broad

comments on the importance of Clubs and Associations in learning institution setup. Society

encourages people to form associations and clubs as a way of socializing. Clubs like the

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Debating, Drama, YWCA, YMCA, Scouts and Girl Guides, Young Farmers Clubs of Kenya

give members an opportunity share their knowledge and experiences with like minded people.

Clubs also help members to find appropriate role models to emulate in addition to enabling

them to express themselves on important concerns. Through clubs, young people are able to

develop their interpersonal and communication skills. They acquire and nurture values and

important lifelong dispositions.

In order to further enhance the mainstreaming of good governance, anti-corruption, ethics and

integrity in the school environment, I would like to inform you that, the Commission will be

launching Adili Clubs in the education sector. These are integrity clubs which will give

learners an opportunity to discuss moral dilemmas they encounter daily both in their personal

and communal lives. These clubs will be points of contact between learners and their

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respective communities on the ethical issues of the day. Learners will interact with content in

a structured manner. The clubs will operate under the co-curricula Ministry of Education

programming. I take this opportunity to invite you to join the Commission in making this

programme a success.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I call upon you to reflect on the debilitating effects of corruption and

unethical conduct. As we leave this conference, let us talk about the importance of ethics,

integrity, character and education in developing a whole person ready to effectively

participate in nation building. Such reflection should help you to:

a) examine who you are, how you view yourselves and your world,

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b) put into context the ways in which your understanding of self is socially

constructed, and

c) evaluate the impacts of poverty, corruption, individualism, bad

governance, and education on national cohesion and development. This will

involve all of us taking on new roles, perspectives, and using proactive

images, idioms and metaphors in providing solutions to our national

experience.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope that as we struggle with the dragon of corruption, through

the power of Character we will Learn to Know, Learn to Do, Learn to Live Together, and

Learn to Be in a caring society that is built upon the Six Pillars of Character: Trustworthiness,

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Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship. I urge you to embrace the Positive

Youth Development Approach whose four ingredients are:

• A sense of competence: being able to do something well

• A sense of usefulness: having something to contribute

• A sense of belonging: being part of a community

• A sense of power: having control over one’s future

Ladies and Gentlemen, Kenya is at a crossroads. We are facing major challenges relating to

democracy, development, legality and legitimacy of our institutions. Our clarion call, the

National Anthem embodies central values. These relate to nationhood, justice, unity, peace,

liberty, work ethic and service, commitment, integrity and gratitude towards a higher

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authority. Let us make “Integrity Our Baseline” because it is a core virtue that will instill

public trust. All of us should come to that place where we think Kenyan, act Kenyan, and are

Kenyan.

Thank you for listening to me. I look forward to hearing from you and to profit from your

experiences as we reflect on the conference theme “Unity in Diversity.”

Thank you.