RENEWED TRANSPARENCY, AN INDICATOR OF IMPROVING PUBLIC- GOVERNMENT ENGAGEMENT RELATIONSHIP

Kenya is currently in a constitutional moment in which the public is demonstrating countrywide democratic governance as aspired by pledges of 2010 whereby “public participation” is the fundamental principle in the day in day out management of the country.

The International Association for Public Participation defines public participation as the involvement of affected persons into decision-making processes. It encompasses a range of public involvement, from as simple as informing people, to delegating decisions to the public.

Article 118 of the Constitution captures the importance of public participation as one of the key mandates of Parliament in as far as citizen involvement in the legislative exercises of policy-making and implementation. The article purposes to strengthen and deepen practices of good governance.

Previously, during colonial times, whilst the British Government “white papers” willed to have indigenous peoples interests as paramount; “Men on the Ground” in collusion with “Settlers” conspired to create conducive environment for their respective marginal communities, with determination to “get rich quick”.

The situation momentarily fashioned Kenya as a “white man’s country”.

After years of harsh struggles and World War, indigenous Kenyans through observation and learnt experiences grew consciousness and agitated for freedom. This matured gradually, from dissident voices and actions of groupings such as the MauMau, to inclusion and participation in leadership spaces within the Legislative Council (LegCo).

Ultimately, Kenya was granted the self-determination obligation to manage its own affairs.

Notwithstanding this great achievement, the post-independence period between 1963 and 2002 is widely characterized as an era of “consolidation and centralization of power”. These four decades of adverse authoritarian rule banished public interest, and with it, public services.

Between 2002 to 2010 Kenyans experienced a rude awakening to the “prisoners of war syndrome”.

The resultant agitations led to promulgation of a new Constitution that rightfully expropriated a space for public engagement. Duly, beyond 2013 gradual steps towards better involvement of people in government affairs is noteworthy.

Private based institutions in the form of civil societies such as; Center for Multiparty Democracy (CMD), International Budget Partnerships (IBP), Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), International Institute of Legislative Affairs (IILA), Mzalendo Trust, National Taxpayers Association (NTA), Uraia Trust, and Transparency International have been crucial in analyzing and disseminating public policies such as budgets and sector plans, among other forms of documents, in simplified versions for public consumption.

Recently, Commissioner Lucy Ndung’u, from the Ombudsman Office, in-charge of “access to information” commended efforts by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), jointly co-creating the fifth Open Government National Action Plan (NAP-5).

The plan aims to enhance transparency and accountability in government institutions. While addressing the consortium of CSOs at the session organized by Open Governance Partnerships (OGP), the commissioner further declared that such efforts are the vital cogs in supporting the fight against corruption in Government.

National and County Governments cognizant of Articles 33 and 35 of the Constitution on the “freedom of expression” and “right to information”, are increasingly adhering themselves to application of such provisions. Parliament, as an example, has been leveraging on technology and social media to facilitate public access.

The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Caucus on SDGs and Business Hon. Gideon Ochanda notes a factsheet that states; “International and regional agreements, which Kenya is a signatory to, in public participation encourage governments to take steps to improve transparency, participation, and accountability. The Manila Declaration of 1982, and the African Charter for Popular Participation in Development and Transformation of 1990 are significant examples of the trend towards enhancing public participation.”

Media has also played a huge role in probing all stakeholders to keep Kenyans informed. Presidential aspirant Mr. Jimmy Wanjigi and Senator Okiya Omtatah have been invited to numerous media interviews to elaborate on their alluding sentiments that “Kenya has overpaid its debt”. Such conversations have increased the publics knowledge with regards to processes on debt management, and accessing relevant data from the Central Bank of Kenya, Controller of Budget, and Office of the Auditor General.

Is there room to improve public engagement?

Whist the enduring public examination of the Finance Bill for the FY 2023/24 was a step in the right direction; without proper facilitation of analytical, status and performance reports on government expenditure, the process is a façade, glossed over by projections and wishful statements.

Numerous public thoughts raised on certain unpopular elements of the now Act, such as the housing levy have been ignored. Moreover, there seems to be apparent misinformation on the implementation of the levy’s clauses, which is rather annoying as government has the ability to issue circulars or citizens budgets to advance mass understanding.

As time passes, it becomes easier to concur with Kwame Owino views (per recent media interview) that either government is either being too clever, or a cabal of deep state is working strategically to ensure the administration ultimately losses favor with its populace.

To avoid similar incidents, it should be a standard prerogative by government to rigorously conduct awareness and pilot projects for new public policy proposals, before enactment. In addition, monitoring and evaluation reports of nationally developed projects should be publicized.  

Albeit, a post legislative scrutiny would not hurt either.

Moving forward, misleading the country financially (or otherwise) should be signified as an act of treason. Measures to “shame” and “tame” rogue public servants be effected. Moreover, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), should be capacitated with the necessary manpower and budgets, to provide accessible and timely audit reports, that steer the country in the right policy direction.

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