Inside William Ruto's public participation nightmare

Rarieda MP Otiende Amolo  addresses journalists at Parliament building, Nairobi. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Kenyans have on numerous occasions challenged the government's projects or appointments and walked out of courtrooms with orders that have irked the President and his team. One thing, however, stands out in the orders: public participation.

According to the Constitution of Kenya (2010), public participation is a mandatory national value and principle of governance that ensures citizens are involved in policy-making, legislative business and decision-making processes.

It is a structured process of dialogue between public institutions and the public to give and receive feedback on legal proposals such as Bills, legal reforms and even financial issues.

The exercise is crucial for achieving accountability, transparency and public involvement in decision-making processes. Additionally, Article 118 establishes the right to public participation in legislative and other processes of the State, ensuring that the public has an opportunity to participate in matters that affect them directly.

However, over the years, the courts have thrown out key legislative proposals — especially by the Kenya Kwanza administration — due to what they have termed as poorly conducted public participation or a lack thereof.

Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo and his Ainabkoi counterpart Samuel Chepkonga have, however, introduced a Bill before the National Assembly setting clear rules for public participation across all levels of government.

The Bill, currently at the second reading stage, proposes that clerks of each House would be responsible for carrying out public participation in Parliament, the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary for the courts, and the Attorney General for the Office of the Attorney General.

It further proposes that the exercise be undertaken by county governors, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), principal secretaries to State departments, chief executive officers of commissions and independent bodies, State corporation CEOs, and clerks of county assemblies.

“A responsible authority shall, before undertaking a public participation exercise, notify the public of the exercise … and allow a reasonable time for the public to make submissions,” reads the Bill in part.

The Bill also seeks to cure the duplication of roles between the National Assembly and the Senate. It dictates that for consideration of proposals requiring input from both Houses, Parliament may only conduct one round of public participation.

Once a committee has sought public views, the other House’s committee would have to adopt its report and use the same as public participation on the Bill.

Separate exercises

Currently, National Assembly and Senate committees conduct separate public participation exercises on Bills and other legislative proposals. During the process, the same witnesses often appear before both Houses, repeating submissions that have already been presented and considered.

By approving the report, Chepkonga and Otiende argue, it will help curb the wasteful expenditure of public resources during public participation exercises.

“Where a committee of one House of Parliament has conducted public participation on a Bill, a committee of the other House may rely on the report tabled by the committee of the originating House,” the Bill reads.

President William Ruto when he presided over the disbursement of the NYOTA Business Start-Up Capital for young businesspeople from Kisii, Nyamira and Migori counties at Gusii Stadium. [PCS]

It, however, provides that the other House may only seek additional views on the Bill with respect to substantive amendments made during the consideration process. Further, should the Bill get the nod, the committee of the House where the Bill originated may hold joint public participation with the corresponding committee of the other House for government-sponsored Bills.

“A committee of a House of Parliament may take measures to avoid duplicating public participation conducted by a committee of the originating House.”

At the same time, the Bill seeks to create the office of the Registrar of Public Participation.

“There is established the office of the Registrar of Public Participation, which shall be an office in the public service. The Registrar shall be competitively recruited and appointed by the Cabinet Secretary,” reads the Bill in part.

Proposed functions of the Registrar include receiving and approving public participation plans of responsible authorities; maintaining a register of public participation plans and public participation reports; developing and implementing a public participation monitoring, evaluation, assessment and learning framework; and submitting reports to the Cabinet Secretary on the status of public participation.

The office holder will also be required to maintain a website of public participation reports, recommend measures to responsible authorities to ensure compliance with the Act, conduct capacity-building for responsible authorities, and perform any other functions provided for under the Act or any other written law.