Organization

What is Transparency International?

Transparency International is a non governmental organization dedicated to increasing government accountability and curbing both international and national corruption. The TI movement has multiple concerns:

• Humanitarian, as corruption undermines and distorts development and leads to increasing levels of human rights abuse; democratic, as corruption undermines democracies and in particular the achievements of many developing countries and countries in transition;
• Ethical, as corruption undermines a society's integrity;
• and  practical, as corruption distorts the operations of markets and deprives ordinary people of the benefits which should flow from them.

Transparency International Agenda.

Combating corruption sustainably is only possible with the involvement of all the stake holders which include the state, civil society and the private sector. Through TI’s National Chapters the movement brings together people of integrity in civil society, business and  government to work as coalitions for systemic reforms. TI does not "name names" or attack individuals, but focuses on building systems that combat corruption. TI is playing an important role in raising public awareness and its Corruption Perceptions Index has triggered meaningful reform in many countries.

The Role Of National Chapters In The Movement.

Today, Transparency International is active as an international movement in more than 77 countries and in the international arena. The National Chapters are at the heart of the global anti corruption movement - they are actively designing national anti corruption strategies. They do this through an impressive range of activities - by lobbying their governments, by informing the media and bringing together people worried about corruption in their country.

National Chapters are financially and institutionally independent but observe the movement's guiding principles of non investigative work and independence from government, commercial and partisan political interests. They do their own fund-raising. Elected representatives of National Chapters have a key role in electing the Board of Directors which serves as the governing body of Transparency International.

Transparency International- Kenya’s Vision and Mission.

Vision Statement
Towards A transparent, just and accountable Kenyan society

Our mission
To support citizens and governance institutions effect transparency and accountability in public and business affairs through legal and policy frameworks, skills, knowledge and information

TI-Kenya's strategic priorities are:

Transparent and accountable institutions of governance in Kenya

• TI-Kenya will support citizens to monitor transparency in public service delivery, particularly in the area of public procurement and disposal of public assets. It will also support the capacity of key Parliamentary Committees, Kenya Anti Corruption Commission (KACC), Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) and other public oversight institutions to interpret and discharge their mandate in a way that is most beneficial to the common good.

• Effective policy and legal frameworks that promote accountability and transparency
  TI-Kenya will continue to provide leadership in advocating for strong policy and legal frameworks that enhance transparency and accountability. We will prioritize in areas of policy and legal environment that promotes citizen access to information, particularly from public authorities; as well as monitor implementation of legislation and administrative decisions that have potential to ensure transparent public service delivery.
  
  TI-Kenya will support domestication of and adherence to international and regional anti-corruption conventions like the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the African Union (AU) Convention on Prevention and Combating Corruption. TI-Kenya will also advocate for inclusion of transparency and accountability as part of East Africa Community (EAC) agreements, treaties and strategies.

• Empowered citizens who proactively demand for transparency and good governance
  
  TI-Kenya will work with partners to develop the capacity of citizens to demand and monitor transparency and accountability in governance process. TI-Kenya will particularly prioritize governance in the social sectors of water and sanitation, health and education. We will facilitate development of tools and mechanisms that will enhance citizens' systematic monitoring and reporting on public service delivery as a way of promoting integrity in these sectors.
  
  TI-Kenya will support civil society and business sector partners that can help demonstrate the benefits of transparency in service delivery through integrating and implementing citizens' transparency monitoring models in all interactions of service delivery. Particular emphasis will be placed on working with actors in the corporate sector in Kenya to integrate integrity in their regulatory and corporate social responsibility policies and practices.

• Political participation and competition that is regulated, accountable and transparent
  TI-Kenya will prioritize political accountability in public institutions responsible for regulating political processes as well as programmes that will contribute to the promotion of ethical values in citizens' engagement in political processes. A key priority to TI-Kenya will be reform of Kenya's entire electoral system to entrench transparency and accountability in order to insulate political processes from patronage and corruption networks.

Deservedly, Kenya has a poor reputation internationally where corruption is concerned and its ranking in Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Indices is an indication of this. In 2008, Kenya was ranked at 147 out of the 180 of all the countries surveyed; while in Africa, Kenya was ranked at 32 out of 47 with a mean score of 2.1.

The lack of transparency in both public and private affairs has helped fuel corruption - one of the greatest challenges facing Kenya that undermines its fledgling democracy, human rights, economic well-being, growth and development, and national stability.

About Us

Transparency International–Kenya (TI-Kenya) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1999 in Kenya with the aim of developing a transparent and corruption free society through good governance and social justice initiatives. TI-Kenya is one of the autonomous chapters of the global Transparency International movement that are all bound by a common vision of a corruption-free world.

Vision
“A transparent, accountable and corruption-free Kenya.”

Mission
To transform the society and institutions by supporting the development of high integrity leadership in all sectors and at all levels.

Our Core Values

• Integrity: We will always uphold honesty, transparency, reliability and consistency in our conduct, actions and dealings.

• Inclusion: We recognize, respect and accommodate all forms of diversity both within the organization and outside with the people we serve and partners we work with. We will strive to provide an environment and space that encourages the membership, board, staff, citizens and partners to utilize their skills and abilities in transforming society.

• Justice: We discharge our duties and provide service to society in a fair and equitable manner as guided by our internal policies, the Laws of Kenya and general international standards.

• Equality: We present and promote equal opportunities to all people irrespective of any form of diversity. Internally we will promote an environment in which all our members, board and staff have equal opportunities to express themselves and develop their talents and potential. We also ensure equality in developing partnerships and providing services to the public.

• Courage: In making our decisions and discharging our duties we are driven by what is right and in the best interest of society, regardless of the consequences and dangers involved.

• Excellence: In executing our mandate, we strive to uphold the highest standards of ethical and professional practice.

• Participation: We are aware that the fight against corruption can only be won by everyone standing up against the vice. As such we actively seek partnerships with other actors including individuals, groups, the Government, non-profit sector, for-profit sector and international bodies with whom we share the vision in the fight against corruption.

Our strategic priorities 2012-2017

1. Strengthened governance in targeted institutions
2. Citizens  with capacity to fight corruption and associated vice
3. Improved accountability & transparency in the delivery of Humanitarian assistance in Kenya
4. Enhance public presence and profile
5. Empowerment of citizens to proactively demand for transparency and good governance
6. Improve knowledge management

Our Approach
TI-Kenya will continue using advocacy as its signature approach. Advocacy will be complemented by other approaches including research, partnerships development, capacity building and civic engagement.

Sectoral Focus
In the five year period 2012 -2017, TI-Kenya will prioritize addressing corruption in the following sectors:Water, Education, Humanitarian aid, Climate finance governance, Police and the Extractive industry.

Programmatic Focus

Citizen Demand Programme

This programme builds political capital that can enable effective citizen engagement in public policy by establishing active citizen institutions on the ground. Through this programme, TI-Kenya will contribute to the generation of knowledge and skills that can help citizens build political capital that can in turn enable them to effectively influence public policy and provision of public services.

Objectives of the Citizen Demand Programme

• To progressively improve the responsiveness of public service delivery institutions to citizens to demand for integrity in water, health and sanitation and education sectors.
• To attain improved integrity in the management of public expenditure in existing fiscal decentralization mechanisms.
• To attain improved integrity in the management of local authorities.
• To achieve improved policies and practices in corporate social responsibility and observingregulation standards of a critical number of major players of Kenya’s private sector with regard to integrity standards

Climate Governance and Integrity Programme

TI-Kenya`s Climate Governance and Integrity Programme (CGIP) came into being after Transparency International published the Global Corruption Report, 2010 focusing on climate governance and highlighted the need for dedicated programmatic response.

This programme’s goal is to contribute to promoting transparency, accountability, integrity and anti-corruption safeguards in Climate Finance Governance in Kenya.The specific goal of the programme is to increase the capacities of Transparency International-Kenya and Climate Finance Governance stakeholders to better engage, cooperate, advocate and contribute to effective climate finance governance, policy development, implementation and oversight.

Objectives of the Climate Governance and Integrity Programme

• To promote and strengthen anti-corruption safeguards in climate change mitigation andadaptation activities.
• To increase people and organizations’ ability to contribute to the development, implementation and monitoring of climate finance policy.
• To develop, through training, the capacity of the networks and their stakeholders to engage in national climate finance stakeholder consultations, planning, monitoring, reporting and advocacy activities.
• To increase civil society national participation, coordination, networks, and advocacy actions to support and contribute to improved policy making and implementation of government`s disbursing and receiving climate funds.

Governance and Policy Programme

This programme is split into two:

Governance. The Governance Programme was developed with the goal of realising critical institutions of governance addressing corruption issues in Kenya. The programme comprises two sub-programme areas; institutional reform and monitoring of public procurement and oversight institutions. It focuses on supporting governance institutions in enhancing transparency and accountability and building effective and reliable capacity development in corruption matters.

On the other hand, the Policy Programme is aimed at realizing effective legal and policy frameworks within critical institutions of governance addressing corruption issues in Kenya. The programme focuses on the constitutional & legal reforms necessary to actualise transparency and accountability in public affairs.

Objectives of the Governance and Policy Programme:

• To attain consistent policies and practices that espouse integrity in key public sector institutions;
• To improve Kenya's public procurement system to optimum levels of responsiveness to integrity demands, underpinned by principles of transparency and accountability;
• To attain optimum levels of responsiveness for the public good within public oversight institutions.
• To strengthen the watchdog and legislative roles of Parliament with regard to fighting corruption and nurturing a consistent culture of transparency and accountability in the Kenyan society and to attain consistent policies and practices that espouse integrity in key public sector institutions.
• To strengthen and continuously evaluate Kenya's legal (constitutional and statutory) regime with regard to provisions therein for effectively combating corruption.

Humanitarian Aid Integrity Programme (HAIP)

During the first phase of the programme, an analysis of the 2011 drought response was conducted. Implemented in cooperation with key actors involved in the food assistance sector, including relevant ministries, international and national humanitarian organisations, development partners and beneficiaries, the “Food Assistance Integrity Study” identifies measures and recommendations to enhance accountability mechanisms that allow for more effective food security programmes. The study also encapsulates the findings of case studies and analyses integrity risks within different food assistance programmes implemented in affected regions in Kenya.

In the period between 2013 and 2015, TI Kenya, in cooperation with Humanitarian organisations and other partners, will continue enhancing integrity in the Humanitarian aid sector as well as foster citizens’ participation in the design and monitoring of basic services delivered in their communities.

The programme is structured around three components

• Advocacy: national and county advocacy strategies will be drafted in cooperation with humanitarian partners. This will prioritise the advocacy focus at the National level and in three Counties (Wajir, West Pokot and Turkana).
• 
  Capacity building and best practices exchange workshops for Humanitarian aid and government employees will be conducted in the three counties. This will raise awareness of the risks of corruption in the implementation of aid programmes as well as to present mitigation measures.
• Community participation: TI Kenya will work in partnership with local partners to raise beneficiaries’ awareness on identified corruption risks and to build their capacity to monitor aid and basic services projects implemented in their community. Social auditors will be trained within community members to hold services providers accountable and to report suspected cases of corruption. TI Kenya and partners will also pilot integrated feedback mechanisms to enhance effective, timely and adequate responses to beneficiaries.

Research Programme
The Research Programme creates a knowledge base for a national evidence-driven anti-corruption agenda. This provides TI-Kenya and other actors in the corruption fight with systematic, empirical and methodologically consistent information for the purposes of monitoring and evaluating anti-corruption efforts, assessing their impact and tracking institutional change over time.

The Research Programme also aims to measure corruption and provide benchmarks of integrity and efficiency in public organisations. By so doing, it puts public pressure on managers of public organisations to address corruption; and likewise to provide a measure that can be used to recognise achievement in combating corruption.

Key tools of the Research Programme:

The East African Bribery Index (EABI)
First published in January 2002 as the Kenya Urban Bribery Index (KUBI), the index has since gone regional and now covers Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. It is the foremost empirical survey of bribery in the region. The Bribery Index ranks public organisations using indices based on surveys in which ordinary citizens report their daily experiences with bribery. The Index captures the responses of East Africans when questioned on whom they bribed, how much they paid, and what the bribe was for.

Integrity Studies, Research Papers, Opinion polls and Case Studies:
TI-Kenya conducts integrity studies, research papers and case studies on corruption and governance. The papers encourage the accumulation of scholarship and knowledge on corruption and its effects on development. The integrity studies, opinion polls and case studies inform TI-Kenya’s own advocacy interventions, particularly in areas where knowledge is insufficient. To these ends, TI-Kenya engages researchers/policy analysts to study and identify reforms in priority areas in the research programme.

Advocacy and Communications programme
The Advocacy and Communications Programme raises the public profile of corruption as a development, economic, political and social issue in Kenya. It disseminates findings of TI-Kenya’s research programme in an innovative way which cultivates demand driven advocacy.

Key tools of the Advocacy and Communications Programme

• Website: http://www.tikenya.orgprovides summaries of important new reports and updates on the outcomes of decision-making meetings, upcoming events and documents on corruption-related and related governance matters. TI-K has revamped its site to be more interactive and informative on governance related issues.

• Blog: http://tikenya.wordpress.com/

• Social media:TI-Kenya has established its presence in the social media through the open group ‘Friends of TI-Kenya’ & TI- Kenya fan page on Facebook and @TIKenya on Twitter. TI-Kenya also has its presence on youtube – Transparency International Kenya.

• Adili News Service:Adili (Kiswahili for integrity) is a monthly newsletter carrying interviews, analytical pieces and feature articles. It seeks to inform people on on-going corruption and related governance issues in Kenya and beyond. Disseminated electronically and via postal mail, Adili is also posted on the TI-Kenya website.

• Media engagement: TI-Kenya targets different forms of media as the mobile cinema, national and community radios, national television and documentaries to engage national/regional audiences on governance issues.

• Resource Centre: It provides a unique collection of corruption-related information and documents for policy-makers and practitioners in related fields. Users have a direct “one-click” access to these documents. Stocked with key publications in the area of corruption and governance, the resource centre provides up-to-date information to academics, general researchers, students, media and the public. The resource centre is open to the public and offers users internet search facilities. It is linked to TI’s global Corruption Online Research Information System (CORIS)

• Civic/Public education:TI Kenya also engages with the populace through forums, fairs & festivals, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials and publications.

• Toll Free Line: TI-Kenya`s Hotline and Bulk SMS service is now running. Call 0800 720 721 or send an SMS to 3129. The services are available 24/7.