A few weeks ago, I was late to
follow a TV discussion on one of the local channels. Or should I say I was not
lucky to have known about this particular panel discussion beforehand.
Nevertheless, as I touched the dial to that discussion, one statement from a
lady I could not place a title on caught my attention. “Public Engagement in Kenya
is just getting lip service,” the lady said.
For a moment I thought she had
just read my mind. Unfortunately, this was her parting shot on the discussion
that had been on for an hour. “Had I just missed the most relevant and intriguing
discussion in my professional life?” I murmured.
Yes. Public engagement has been
my area of interest for a long time now. My interest spans particularly from my
training days at the Kenya National Assembly where I also volunteered for
fifteen months. My volunteer service was so gratifying as this was during the
transitional phase after the promulgation of the constitution. It was
a very optimistic moment for Kenyans that brought a tide of hope around
decentralization. There was also an abstract realm around equity,
accountability, transparency and bottom up approach in governance especially
with the birth of counties.
Kenyans could not hide the
enthusiasm during the promulgation ceremony. This was evident from the jubilations,
excitements and triumph as the former president flaunted the most special and
respectable book in any sovereign state. In all honesty, the book provided part of an ambitious plan for people driven agendas in a very well laid out structure.
Former president of Kenya H.E Mwai Kibaki flaunts the Constitution of Kenya in 2010
Fast forward, nine years down the
line, are Kenyans as excited as they were that particular day? Have their
aspirations been met? Are the decentralized units producing the anticipated
results? Or have they become the latest
breeding grounds for comical corruption stunts from towels meant for dam
projects to wheelbarrows worth millions of tax payers money?
Notable progress has just been on
paper and even with a number of policy frameworks developed, they are yet to be
implemented. The frameworks which are anchored on the Constitution include:
- County Constitutive Act 2012
- County Public Participation Guideline 2016
- Constituency Development Act 2013
- Public Finance Management Act 2012
- Urban and Cities Act 2012
- Intergovernmental Relations Act 2012
- Public Finance Management Regulation Act 2014
- Guidelines on Performance Contracting in County Governments
- Guidelines on County Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation System. (CIMES)
- Hand book on County Performance Management Systems
- County Integrated Development Plans (CIDP)
- National Capacity Building Framework (NCBF)
- Elections Act 2012/17
- The African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance
- Reports from respectable both state and non-state actors, among other guiding principles
My resolution based on this
analysis is that a number of leaders are not embracing civic engagement. The
very citizens that voted for the constitution are not being involved in making
critical decisions. Therefore, the are not following the progress being made.
In the past month we have witnessed some resistance from citizens in taking up
some new government initiatives due to lack of civic education. The National
Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) popularly known as ‘huduma
number’ has seen citizens oppose it as they are unclear on its significance and
more so safety of their data. The digital integrated record of citizen data
received disapproval from members of the public upon introduction which has
seen a considerable number take long to get registered.
In addition, the housing levy has
been received as a shocker by many Kenyan citizens given the high living
standards and high taxes being experienced. The housing levy is set to have
Kenyans get a deduction of 1.5 percent from all employees both in public and
private sector beginning May 2019. With one month notice of the levy deduction,
this has received sharp criticism from both employers and employees.
These are just a few recent
examples on the glaring gaps in civic education in Kenya nine years after the
promulgation of the new constitution. Civic engagement allows for diverse
perspectives to be discussed on one platform. It should be done prior to making
the final decision to allow for acceptability, ownership and sustainability of
projects or initiatives by the community.
However, all is not lost as the
only grim of hope is that there is one county walking the talk. Makueni county
is embracing this model of governance and the outputs are anchored on civic
engagements is so evident. Remarkable enough is that the county has in place a
public participation in governance bill, 2014.
