Even for private firms, lure of ‘deals’ too hard to resist

One in every three Kenyan private companies has been forced to ‘slaughter chicken’ to win tenders, a new audit has divulged, ranking Kenyan firms among the most corrupt in the world. Ernst and Young, an international audit firm, released its results on Thursday that cut across 59 countries.

From the audit, 27 per cent of CEOs, internal auditors and financial controllers used in the study revealed massive fraud carried out in a bid to win contracts. The middle-level managers aged between 35 and 45 are the instigators of corruption in the private sector. The research also reveals that corruption and bribery in Kenya escalated in 2013, surging by 10 per cent from 76 per cent recorded in 2012.

“We staunchly believe this malpractice is majorly driven by pressure to perform and achieve certain targets,” noted Ernst and Young’s associate director Miriam Gaituri.

South Korea’s private sector is the cleanest, with none of the executives used in the study noting any substantial accounts of fraud. The top five list is completed by Luxembourg, Poland, Philippines and Argentina.

Most avenues where corruption is highly practised is during transactions between business associates and suppliers and less common during transactions with the government. The financial services sector is the most affected by fraud due to large amounts of money that the sector handles in a day.

Kenya, however, lies slightly behind Namibia (28 per cent), Nigeria (30 per cent) and Egypt (44 per cent).