November 19, 2011 – Kenya’s rise as the economic engine of East Africa is being aided by its commitment to transparency and good governance. Indeed, Kenya is fighting corruption and empowering its people through the simple, but powerful tool of “e-government.”

Reforms computerizing the approval process for small business owners will “reduce the interaction between businessmen and state workers” — and, thus, reduce the opportunities for civil servants to enforce laws capriciously or be tempted by bribes — according to Jane Joram, senior deputy registrar general at the Company Registrar Office.

E-government will also make Kenya’s government leaner and more efficient. Already, reforms have cut the time it takes to register a new company’s name from up to 21 days to a mere five. Samuel Kimeu, executive director for Transparency International in Kenya, describes the promise of Kenya’s new reforms:

“Part of the reason people pay bribes is because it took forever to register a company or do any of the other bureaucratic processes…But when we make government processes automated, such as [getting] birth certificates, licenses, company registrations, IDs, I’m sure the impact will be immense in reducing corruption.”

To read the full Christian Science Monitor Article, click here.