EDITORIAL: Theft by staff calls for new ways to fight graft

A report showing a steep rise in the number of Kenyan workers being convicted for employment-related offences makes for a sobering national reflection.

While it is possible that such a sharp increase may be as a result of improved output of the justice system, a 60 percent jump in reported cases is extraordinary by any standards.

The figures released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicate that number of such convicts rose to 6,921 last year from 4,262 the previous year.

Analysts have linked these statistics to negative impact of inflation on workers while others think the situation may have been amplified by multiple channels for reporting crime, including social media.

Looked at critically, however, the figures speak to a decaying collective moral fabric and in a sense, even lay bare the anatomy of corruption that has plagued both the private and public sectors.

The crime thrives on the mistaken belief that one’s income can never be enough until people exploit loopholes to enrich themselves.

And just like the male gender has dominated reported cases of corruption, latest KNBS data shows that while only about 185 of the employment-related crime convicts were female, the other 6,636 were male.

In short, the growing propensity of workers to breach employment rules could be symptomatic of the greed in the society.

That is why we must dedicate equal amount of resources, energy and attention to fighting corruption in both the private and public sectors.

To be sure, the economy is the ultimate loser whether a chief executive falsifies his company’s books of accounts or a senior government official causes taxpayer to foot bills for fictitious projects.

The same way private firms keep citing government entities in annual corruption perception surveys, a study by PwC last year found that economic crimes committed by mid-level managers have become the biggest threat to firms in Kenya.