Ruto moves to bar all civil servants from running personal businesses

Ruto through a cabinet decision approves a bill to limit the involvement of civil servants in individual businesses. 

According to a Cabinet dispatch on Tuesday, February 28, the proposed bill titled Conflict of Interest Bill, 2023, will help prevent “real, apparent, or potential conflict between the private interests” and discharge of their official duties. 

President Ruto and his cabinet members affirmed that the bill was part of their commitment to promoting good governance and national ethos. 

“The Bill seeks to provide a framework for the management of conflict of interest on the part of State and Public Officers arising from the discharge of their official duties,” the statement read in part. 

After becoming law, the Bill will offer a framework for handling potential conflicts of interest that could prevent government officials from fully focusing on their mandate, which, in accordance with the resolutions, has resulted in instances where public officials have neglected their duties in favor of private interests.

Also, Cabinet reviewed a prior Cabinet decision from 1971 that adopted the Ndegwa Commission Report and gave public employees virtually unfettered freedom to pursue personal interests and do business.

“The bill will herald a new dawn in the management of public affairs by introducing strong legal safeguards against the real, apparent, or potential conflict between the private interests of public servants on one hand and the public interest and their official duties,” the document read. 

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The bill will be forwarded to Parliament for consideration subject to the process laid down in the constitution. 

Concerns about public officers engaging in personal businesses at the expense of service delivery have been raised in the past.

Cases of government officials pursuing and influencing the award of tenders using their capacities have also been in the spotlight before in what was seen as a leading avenue to corruption. 

In 2019, the cabinet of former President Uhuru Kenyatta proposed a bill that would see public servants declare their wealth including rental income, business income, farming income, and investment dividends. 

The bill was conceived as part of the government’s efforts to curtail cases of corruption and embezzlement mainly through conflicting interests. 

All cabinet secretaries and public officials would, according to the proposal, submit a declaration to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for reference purposes. 

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