Lack of standards, poor communication and citizen apathy are some of the key challenges facing effective public participation in the country, a new government policy shows.
In addition, inadequate funding, ‘minimalism’ and ‘compliance only’ among duty-bearers and limited civic education are also hindering effective public engagements.
The revelations are contained in the new Kenya Policy on Public Participation.
The Policy has been sent to Parliament by Attorney General Justin Muturi.
Article 10 of the Constitution lists public participation as one of the national values and principles of governance that binds all state organs, and state and public officers.
The country has not had clear policy objectives and standards to guide public participation.
“The absence of standards has resulted in lack of clarity and disagreements on important aspects of participation, including what constitutes public participation,” the policy states.
It also cites inadequate coordination among government agencies as well as gaps in collaboration between government and partners as a hindrance to effective public participation.
Muturi noted in the document that important segments of society, especially special interest groups, minorities and the marginalised, have not been effectively included - even on issues that affect them.
“Some of the factors that have contributed to this gap are generalised public participation without adequate stakeholder mapping and targeting and low awareness of public participation events,” the document states.
County and national government agencies have been on the spot for conducting public participation exercises to ‘merely’ fulfil a constitutional requirement.
Agencies that conduct the exercise do not incorporate the views of Kenyans in the final decision.
In the policy, Muturi stated that many state officers have developed a ‘minimalist approach’ and ‘compliance-only’ attitude, where efforts are only put to ensure compliance with the law without actually advancing public participation.
“Furthermore, participation seems to take place either at the beginning or the tail end of the development process without continuity,” the policy states.
Inadequate resources and other financial and budgetary constraints have also reduced the frequency and quality of public participation.
“Funding levels also determine the availability of materials, documents and support for logistics for public participation,” it states.
Further, the policy states that inadequate implementation of the right holders’ priorities and feedback to them on the decisions taken on the proposals have discouraged many Kenyans from engaging in public participation processes.
The result, the document adds, has created the perception that citizens' involvement is not helpful.
“This has led to negative perceptions about public participation and the emergence of demand for payment and reimbursement for attendance,” the document says.
Challenges in communication were being experienced at both national and county level, resulting in low, late, inaccurate or incomplete communication.
It highlighted the use of newspaper adverts to announce public participation even in areas with low literacy levels and low newspaper distribution and access by government agencies.
“The sharing of materials and documents for planning and budgeting is limited, while most documents remain too bulky and technical for the right stakeholders to understand.”
Further, communication relevant to effective participation and related logistics has been a challenge, the policy states.
In some cases, organisers shift dates or venues for consultative meetings on short notice without consulting the right stakeholders, flout procedures, fail to provide relevant information and documents or hold meetings in inaccessible places.
“Public participation has also been conducted to legitimise decisions already made and has failed to fully include Kenyans,” the document states.