The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has raised the flag over widespread use of fake documentations to obtain services and employment opportunities in various public institutions.
South Rift EACC manager, Mr. Ignatius Wekesa said most county governments were affected by this vice and advised concerned parties to do due diligence in the recruitment processes to weed out the ‘bogus professionals.’
“We have been investigating cases of fake certificates left, right and centre and I think as a country our moral fabric is really down,” Wekesa lamented.
He revealed that most if not all county governments were affected by the problem of having employees who were irregularly hired using forged academic documents or having ghost workers on their payroll.
“It’s a case of know whom instead of knowhow and I wonder why there is all this thirst to employ unqualified people when Kenya has no shortage of very qualified people in all fields of academia,” Wekesa said.
He was speaking in Naivasha on Tuesday during a training workshop for Turkana University College (TUC) council and senior management. The training is meant to help enhance integrity in various processes such as procurement.
Wekesa said in their investigations, when they charge people who were employed on forged academic papers, they also institute proceedings to ensure the EACC recovers all monies paid to the suspect during the tenure of service.
TUC Council chair Oliver Erupe Lowoton concurred that employers in the country need to always liaise with the concerned intuitions of learning and Qualifications Authority of Kenya (QAK) in verifying the academic documents.
But TUK Principal Professor George Chemining`wen said the problem was widespread in the country even from primary school level but identifying forged papers is sometimes tricky as some of those holding those papers acquired them from the concerned institutions but never attended class.
“A politician for example who needs a certain academic certificate can even work with a rogue member of staff to have his name sneaked into the graduation list,” Prof. Chemining`wen said. He was however quick to add that Universities have a vigorous system of verifying whether the academic certificates acquired from the institution is genuine or not.
He said the training being imparted in the TUK senior management during the next three days will go a long way in equipping them with skills to play their oversight role, understand the law and get value for money.
The officer in charge of Integrity Academy which is the training arm of EACC Dr. Josephine Munyi said they have been carrying out these trainings for various government institutions in order to enhance honesty and truthfulness and embracing the law in various processes such as procurement.
