Introduction

Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is the UK public body dedicated to supporting democracy around the world. WFD works with parliaments, political parties, and civil society groups to help make countries’ political systems fairer, more inclusive, accountable, and transparent. WFDs current engagement with African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC) Kenya Chapter, WFD seeks to strengthen the Caucus’ efforts to build the commitment and capacity of parliamentarians to play an accountability role towards a corruption free Kenya.

The context

Parliaments play an essential role in preventing corruption, including through a sound legislative process and rigorous legal drafting. The risk of corruption increases when legislative process is opaque or the resulting laws include imprecise definitions, weak enforcement powers, ambiguous accountabilities, or excessive exemptions. The possibility that the law itself is written with corrupt intent or to benefit a select group or harm others is also a risk. To avoid such risks, legal drafters should follow well-formulated legal drafting guidelines, as well as the principles of consultation and transparency.

According to National Democratic Institute (NDI) and a number of United Nations anti-corruption bodies, corruption proofing or Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA) of legislation is a preventative measure that involves the review of legal acts (primary and secondary legislation, as well as other regulations); in order to minimize the risk of future corruption. NDI further expounds that, while a CRA requires the application of a specialized methodology for reviewing and improving legal acts, it can also improve their overall quality and enhance public debate, which brings new perspectives and scrutiny to the legal process. CRAs can also create additional avenues for deeper engagement of civil society, which is an important player in assessing corruption risks and mitigating them. This approach has been adopted by WFD in its democracy assistance to parliaments, particularly in Albania. 

WFD acknowledges that corruption undermines democracy in a visceral way. For the public, the sense of unfairness that is inevitably generated by corruption completely undermines what should be the social contract between those contributing to society and those in public leadership positions. Corruption erodes trust in government and leads the poor, the excluded and the vulnerable to a sense of desperation given that those in power take decisions on the basis of private rather than public interests. This is cause for concern across the globe, but particularly in contexts of fragility and violence, as corruption fuels and perpetuates the inequalities and discontent that lead to extremism and conflict.

The assignment

WFD seeks to engage the services of a technical expert to support APNAC Kenya in rolling out a methodology on corruption proofing/CRA of legislation. Primarily, the expert will provide sensitization to APNAC members by introducing the concept and methodology on corruption proofing of legislation. This is expected to improve the members understanding of the concept and methodology for onwards application in legislative processes in parliament. Additionally, the expert is expected to hold a consultative meeting with APNAC members for consent on current legislative proposals before the house. The expert will work collaboratively with the APNAC secretariat to apply the corruption proofing/CRA to these two legislations and present a detailed analysis to APNAC’s Kenya Board to inform its strategic intervention through introduction of stronger controls, checks, and balances to prevent the potential for corruption.

Specifically, the assignment shall seek to:

1. Introduce the concept and potential methodology on corruption proofing/CRA of legislation to APNAC Kenya members through a sensitization session.
2. Facilitate a participatory session with APNAC to identify key legislation currently at introduction stage of the legislative cycle at the National Assembly. 
3. Carry out corruption proofing scrutiny on the legislative proposal as agreed with APNAC secretariat/members. Specific elements will include but are not limited to:

• Legal Framework Analysis i.e. evaluate the clarity and precision of legislative language; identify ambiguities or vague terms can create opportunities for corrupt practices and assess whether the legislation adequately covers the intended issues and prevents loopholes that could be exploited; Assess whether the legislative proposal aligns with existing laws and regulations to avoid conflicts that could create corruption risks.
• Identification of Vulnerable Areas i.e. where discretionary powers are granted to individuals or institutions, as these can be prone to misuse; examine the effectiveness of existing oversight and accountability mechanisms; assess processes for approving and implementing decisions or actions under the legislation to ensure they are transparent and subject to scrutiny.
• Stakeholder Analysis i.e. identify stakeholders who are directly or indirectly affected by the legislation their influence on the legislative process; Evaluate whether any stakeholders have potential conflicts of interest that could affect the integrity of the legislation.
• Review of Legislative Procedures i.e. assess the transparency of the legislative drafting and approval processes, including public consultation and stakeholder engagement and whether the legislative process allows for meaningful participation from a broad range of stakeholders.
• Risk Identification and Evaluation - identify specific areas or provisions within the legislation that are most susceptible to corruption and evaluate the potential impact and likelihood of corruption occurring in identified vulnerable areas
• Control Mechanisms and Safeguard - review existing control mechanisms within the legislative framework, such as auditing processes, reporting requirements, and enforcement provisions; propose additional controls and safeguards to address identified risks.

4. Based on the scrutiny, make recommendations on the necessary legal and institutional reforms to address identified vulnerabilities and enhance the overall integrity of the legislation, and highlight incentives and obstacles to acceptance of the recommendations by the parliament of Kenya.
5. Prepare a detailed report detailing the findings of the review of the legislative proposal
6. Provide solid recommendations on how APNAC can communicate to make corruption proofing of legislation practice widely acceptable/institutionalized by the two houses of Parliament, based on the experience in other jurisdictions who have successfully applied corruption proofing of legislation [such as Albania].
7. Document any additional strategies on effective corruption proofing of legislation.

Scope of the consultancy

The scope of work for the consultant will include:

• Conducting a sensitization session for APNAC members to introduce the concept and methodology on corruption proofing of legislation.
• Conducting corruption proofing of legislation on a current legislative proposal. This will require consultation with APNAC members for a consensus on the legislative proposal to be considered. 
• Preparing a report with findings from the review of the legislative proposals.
• Participating in the dissemination of the findings report and presentation to APNAC Kenya members. 

The deliverables

1. An inception report that highlights the roadmap towards carrying out the assignment with APNAC members. This should include a detailed methodology, delivery plan relevant tools and guidelines for the sensitization, the sensitization agenda, risks and mitigation measures.
2. A sensitization session with APNAC members on the subject and consultations on the legislative proposal to be considered.
3. A report highlighting key findings/recommendations from the review of the legislative proposals. 
4. A succinct and precise report from the sensitization and consultative meetings with APNAC to inform follow up support to APNAC to further strengthen this subject matter. 
5. Detailed and timely findings from the review of the legislative proposal. 
6. Presentation of findings to APNAC members. 
7. A detailed process report detailing discussions and resolutions.

Duration of the assignment

The consultant will be contracted for nine consultancy days within the months of August - September 2024.

Essential criteria

The consultant should have the following qualifications: 

• Individual national consultant with a post graduate qualification in a relevant discipline such as Political Sciences, Law, or any relevant Social Science discipline.
• Minimum of ten years of relevant experience on legislative engagement with Kenya Parliament, particularly on anti-corruption agenda, transparency and accountability.
• Demonstrable experience in legislative scrutiny. 
• Ability to work independently within stipulated timelines.
• Excellent writing and editing skills (written and oral fluency in English is a requirement).
• Must be result-oriented, a team player, exhibiting elevated levels of enthusiasm, tact, diplomacy, and integrity.
• Demonstrate excellent interpersonal and professional skills in interacting with government and development partners.
• Intricate understanding of the workings of APNAC Kenya is an added advantage.

Expression of interest

Interested contractor(s) are expected to submit proposals (both technical and financial) with CV(s) of the proposed team.

The technical proposal must detail the following:

1. Objectives and understanding of the assignment.
2. Expected outputs and product.
3. Demonstrable experience in similar assignments
4. Availability to deliver the assignment within the required time limit.
5. Financial proposal in Kenya shillings for the entire assignment.

The proposal should be sent to Henry.benjaminawino@wfd.org and Cc Maureen.Oduori@wfd.org by 29 August 2024 at 5pm (East African time). Any clarification should be emailed to the above email addresses. 

The email subject should read EOI – Technical support to APNAC Kenya on Corruption Proofing of Legislation.