Nairobi — The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has identified the failure to implement its recommendations as a primary cause of the rampant corruption cases in the counties.

According to the EACC, the devolved units lack effective accountability mechanisms, rendering them susceptible to high-level corruption orchestrated by county officials seeking to misappropriate county funds.

To combat corruption effectively, EACC has urged County Governors to act upon key reform recommendations that stem from Corruption Risk Assessments carried out by the commission in 28 out of the 47 county governments.

The failure to embrace these preventive measures has resulted in weakened accountability systems within most devolved units, facilitating the brazen misappropriation of public funds.

"Graft in counties could significantly decrease if County Governors implemented key reform recommendations arising from the Corruption Risk Assessments undertaken by EACC in 28 out of 47 county governments. The failure by county bosses to embrace this preventive approach has left most devolved units with weak accountability systems that allow open theft of public funds," EACC said in a statement.

In recent weeks, EACC has intensified investigation in various counties, warning of imminent arrests and prosecutions.

Several Governors and other senior county officials are facing corruption investigations for misappropriation of funds.