Right to Information and Parliamentary Accesibility, Accountability and Transparency

RIGHT TO INFORMATION AND PARLIAMENTARY ACCESIBILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

THET KENYAN PARLIAMENT CASE RIGHT TO INFORMATION AND PARLIAMENTARY ACCESSIBILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY

An Analysis of Access to Information, Accountability and Participation in the Kenyan Parliament

Henry Maina & Hillary Onami – Article 19 Eastern Africa

Final Technical Report

2011

*IDRC Project No: 106493 * Eastern and Southern Africa Region

In collaboration with

Article 19 Eastern Africa ACS Plaza2nd Floor, Lenana Road P. O. Box 2653-00100 Nairobi T. +254 20 3862230-2, F. +254 20 3862231 DEFENDING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND INFORMATION

2 | Right & Access to Information TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface and Acknowledgements...... 4 Abbreviation and Acronyms...... 5 Executive Summary...... 5

1.0 Introduction & Background ...... 7 1.0 Research Problem……..………………………………………………………………………………11 1.1 Objectives…………...... …………………………………...... 12 1.2 Scope of the Study...... 12 1.3 Research Questions……...... ………………………………………………...……………………12 1.4 Research Methodology...... 13 1.5 Research Tools………………………...... ……………………………………………………………16

2.0 Research Findings………………………………………………..………………………………….....……..17 2.1 Action Research: Responsiveness to information Requests……..……...... ………………17 2.2 Accessibility of Members of Parliament………………………….………………...... …..18 2.3 Accessibility of parliament & Parliamentary Processes…………………...... ……………..22

3.0 Access and Right to Information Best practices...... …...24 3.1 Principles of Access…………………………………………...... ……………………………...…24 3.2 Indicators of an Accessible MP.………………………………...... ……………………..….…..25

4.0 Conclusion...... 29

5.0 Recommendations...... 30

6.0 APPENDIX…………………………………………………………………………………………………...32

ANNEXURE I Questionnaire to the constituents...... 32

ANNEXURE 2 Questions to Key Respondents in Parliament…………………………………...... …………....34

ANNEXURE 3: List of Constituencies and Counties in Kenya………………………………………...... …...…39

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 3 PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This report presents the research, findings and recommendations ARTICLE 19 gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the resulting from ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa pioneer project; Right International Development Research Centre (IDRC) without which to Information and Parliamentary Accessibility, Accountability and the research would not have been actualized. We, in equal measure Transparency. The project was supported by the International De- extend deep gratitude to the office of the Speaker of the National As- velopment Research Centre (IDRC). The research was conducted sembly of Kenya, the Office of the Clerk and the National Assembly in 2011 and part of 2012. This was informed by the fact that open- Director of Information and Research for the go-ahead to conduct ness, access to information and genuine dialogue and participation the research, their support in dispensing information and validation of citizens in the management of the affairs of the state are the heart of the report. of Kenya’s new constitutional dispensation. ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa also appreciates the support and the After initial consultations with the Speaker and the Clerk of the contributions accorded to the research by the honourable members National assembly, ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa sought to find out of Kenya’s parliament whose constituencies were sampled in the re- the legislators accessibility to their constituents as well as the con- search. We also appreciate Honorable (Eng.) James Rege’s support stituents’ access to parliamentary proceedings with the goal of i) in his capacity as the Energy, Communications and Information and strengthening citizens’ access to information on parliament and ii) House Broadcasting Committee chairperson. as a way of leveraging their greater participation in setting parliamentary agenda and ensuring its accountability. We note and greatly appreciate IDRC and ARTICLE 19 staff for their significant contributions of time, talent and ideas in the conduct and ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa and IDRC sought to assess the extent successful completion of the project; the information requestors and of accessibility and responsiveness of the legislators as well as that research assistants from all the 32 sampled constituencies across of the institution of parliament with the objective of enhancing the the country; the constituents who gave feedback to the research and quality of service offered, accountability and transparency in institu- all who in one way or another contributed to the research and the tions of governance and democracy. writing of the report: we deeply appreciate.

The findings and recommendations of this report address data, information gaps and needs, and provide valuable information for Thank you all guiding the next steps in ensuring participatory policy making and enhancing accessibility and delivery of information. As a matter of HENRY O. MAINA urgency, parliament should enact Access to Information (ATI) law DIRECTOR that is progressive and that embrace a proactive disclosure policy to ARTICLE 19 KENYA/EASTERN AFRICA ensure free flow of information.

4 | Right & Access to Information ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

RTICLE 19 Eastern Africa through the support of International A19 ARTICLE 19 A Development research Centre (IDRC)- Eastern and Southern Regional office undertook the ‘Right to Information and Parliamen- ACHPR African Commission on Human and People’s tary accessibility, accountability and transparency project’ in Kenya Rights with an aim of strengthening Citizens access to information on parliament as a leverage to their greater participation in setting parlia- CPA Commonwealth Parliamentary Association mentary agenda and ensure its accountability. ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political The research focused on parliament as a major governance institu- Rights tion through which people’s voices ought to be heard. It targeted 32 sampled constituencies (representing 15 per cent of all the current IDRC International Development Research Centre constituencies) in Kenya from which requestors were picked, trained on Access provisions and mandated to engage with parliament and IPPG Inter-Parties Parliamentary Group its proceedings while testing their respective parliamentarians on access standards. IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union The study was grounded on the common fact that openness and MPs Members of Parliament sharing of critical information allows citizens to participate in matters affecting their lives and enhances better governance and trans- RTI Right to Information parency. It aims to build a body of knowledge on the challenges, successes and pathways that citizens employ in engaging with UDHR Universal Declaration on Human Rights parliament. It seeks to enhance access to information and genuine citizen participation both as a measure of consolidating participa- UN United Nation tory democracy and enhancing citizen’s ability to hold institutions of governance accountable and transparent.

Therefore, this study makes recommendations on how parliament and members of parliament can continue to make critical information available to the people and why such proactive information sharing will endear the institution’s credibility amongst the elector- ates. The key findings from the research can be categorized and summarized as below:

ACCESSIBILITY

The research sought to gauge the accessibility of the individual Member of Parliament and parliament as an institution to the ordinary citizen. We found out that:

1. MP’s whose constituents had contacts tended to be more accessible

(a) While almost all (94.4 per cent) constituents knew their leg-

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 5 islators, only 36.8 per cent had their MP’s contacts and 35.5 TRANSPARENCY per cent knew how their area MP could be contacted. About 63 percent neither had their MPs contacts nor knew how he The study found out that Parliamentary budget, processes and or she could be contacted. procedures are ambiguous to a majority of Kenyans hence not as transparent. On the side of MPs, their personal details and mani- (b) About 26 percent interacted with their MP officially while festos for their constituencies remain hidden or ambiguous election 37 percent interacted with their MP informally promises.

(c) While 34 percent of the interviewed rated their MPs as con- Only 35.6 percent of the constituents knew their MP’s CV and mani- siderably accessible, 66 percent rated them otherwise. festo and out of the 63.9 percent who did not know their MP’s CV or manifesto, only 20.4 percent sought to find information regarding 2. As an organization, parliament is largely inaccessible to a ma- the same. jority of Kenyans: Its processes un-interactive and its members significantly absent from their constituents needs and issues. PARTICIPATION

(a) TV and Radio are the most used channels of accessing par- There is little or insignificant stakeholder engagement and public liamentary information (51 per cent of the respondents used participation in parliamentary affairs and governance TV to get parliamentary related information while 46 percent used radio. Other channels were rarely used a) An estimated 67 percent of the respondents never participated in any parliamentary processes or engagements within (b) 14.3 per cent of the respondents said their MP visited their parliament: 87 percent of the respondents found it difficult constituency at least once a week, 36.9 per cent indicated to access parliament and 79 percent of found it difficult to that their MP visited their area at least once a month while participate in its proceedings 58 per cent said the Mp visited their area rarely. b) Out of the questions asked, only 12 percent were responded ACCOUNTABILITY to within the 10-working days timeframe, about 4 per cent on the second attempt while the rest receiving mute re- On accountability, the study found out that Parliament’s budget is sponse. An estimated 63 percent of the questions fielded unavailable to the general publics’ scrutiny hence its expenditures to the Speaker, Clerk, Hansard Editor and the Director of becoming free from public scrutiny. Moreover, apart from the Au- research in parliament went un-responded to. ditor general, there are no oversight mechanisms on parliaments spending. Henceforth, very little is done to enhance accountability The study made use of both qualitative and quantitative aspects of of taxpayer’s resources if for instance, the twelve (12) anti-corrup- research in its methodology where by 3 Research assistants and 35 tion cases against parliament on the Kenya Anti-Corruption Com- respondents comprising of men, women, youths , persons with dis- mission (now Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission) report KACC ability and the elderly in their representative proportions from each 2008/2009 xiv- which have not acted upon to date is anything to constituency were engaged in the research. Hence, a total of 1120 go by. Further, the other cases pointed out in the Auditor General respondents gave feedback on the questionnaires; with an average Reports of 2007-8 are still pending. The research also indicated of 35 respondents per constituency. that only 46 percent of the respondents directly benefited from the devolved funds and 54% of them could not tell how the devolved The sample of constituencies chosen was based on counties with funds were distributed and by extension accounted for. low and high participation rates in the past three general elections Also the study revealed that a majority of the MPs have not fulfilled excluding the 2010 referendum, number of constituencies in each their election promises and worse still, there were no written mani- county, longevity of the MP, gender, innovations, perceived partici- festos that citizens could use to hold their MPs accountable. pation, concerns on decentralized funds among other factors. This gave three constituencies in Nairobi County two from Kitui and Meru

6 | Right & Access to Information counties and a single constituency in the rest of the sampled counties; these represent 47 per cent of the 47 counties in Kenya. Ten of the constituencies sampled were represented by women MPs to enable gender assessment of MP accessibility.

From the qualitative aspect of the research, it became evident that despite the right to information being entrenched in the constitution, there is a considerable lack of awareness in the local Kenyan on the legal rights related to access to information and how they may real- ize them. Whilst the law is under-utilized, the main barrier in practice appears to be a ‘culture of secrecy’ and the general reluctance by government officials, members of parliament, and parliamentary staff towards disclosing information.

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 7 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND budgets, expenditures, audited accounts and procurement information; he Right to Information is a right for all natural and legal persons • Information on the appointment procedures and appoint- T to seek, access and obtain information from public bodies and ment of senior parliamentary officials; private bodies acting in a public nature. The core of the right to in- • Information on assets and income disclosures of public of- formation is that public bodies do not hold information on their own ficials working in parliament; behalf but on behalf of the public as a whole. • Information on the how parliament works, record of parliamentary debates, calendar of work for parliamentary ses- On the other hand, access to information is a fundamental human sion, track of the status of motions and laws debated and right that obliges the state to generate timely and quality information passed. and proactively and publicly disseminate it for broader access by most, if not all the citizens. This right envisages that citizens would Further, parliament has a corresponding duty to proactively publicize be sufficiently empowered to ensure the state meets its obligations the information generated to all the citizens and develop avenues for through filing information requests where the government seems re- feedback from the citizens. When such information is proactively luctant to proactively disclose information. availed parliament will be said to be to a large extent accountable and transparent. Hence, whereas parliament is a critical institution in any participatory democracy, the parliament of the republic of Kenya remains While the reform initiatives have focused on strengthening parlia- largely inaccessible to most citizens making it one of the least un- ment as an institution and its committees (USAID), engendering derstood and hard to engage with amongst most governance insti- legislations and parliamentary procedures (CIDA), and empowering tutions. Therefore, very few Kenyans are able to participate in any women MPs to engage with the media (WFD), parliament as an in- singular or collective manner, in the affairs of parliament. In fact, stitution remains inaccessible, unaccountable and closed from di- parliamentary parlance refers to anybody who is not a parliamen- rect citizen participation. No support has been accorded to indepen- tarian or employee of the Parliamentary service Commission as a dent civil society neither to research on the openness, accessibility, stranger. However, with the promulgation of the Constitution of Ke- transparency and accountability both at a structural and practical nya, 2010, the situation must change as openness, access to infor- level nor to support direct citizen understanding and engagement mation and genuine dialogue are at the heart of the new constitu- with parliament. The creation of ultra-modern MPs offices in Nairobi tional dispensation. Indeed, Article 118 of the Constitution provides and in their respective constituencies has not seen an improvement for public access and participation in the sittings of parliament and in citizen engagement with their MPs and therefore with parliament. those of its committees. It also obliges parliament to facilitate public Once elected MPs tend not to consult with citizens on what areas of participation and involvement in the legislative and other processes policy they should engage. The only times when they visit the con- of parliament including petitions (Article119). stituencies is when they are issuing cheques for the decentralised funds. Rarely do they find time to listen to their constituents-not Thus, effective access to meaningful information is the first step in even the Mondays when they are expected by parliamentary calen- empowering citizens to exercise a degree of control over public in- dar to be in their respective constituencies. Similarly, there are very stitutions in accordance to the new constitution. The right to know few working mechanisms of holding parliamentarians accountable is the basis for stakeholder involvement in the decision making pro- except through voting them our after five years. cesses that affect their lives, their community and the development of their country. As a consequence, parliament remains one institution of governance that is least respected and trusted by citizens. To mitigate against Similarly, any institution of governance including parliament has an this, parliament recently changed its standing orders-the principle obligation to generate at least four sets of quality and timely informa- rule of procedure for parliamentary business- to allow more access tion: to information largely by the legislator from the executive through Prime Minister’s time, questions, motions etc. These provisions while • Information about its management of public funds, that is its positive only deal with the supply side of the governance. Standing

8 | Right & Access to Information order 180 and 201-211 which allow public access to meetings of LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE RIGHT TO departmental committees and launching of petitions on national INFORMATION (RTI) IN KENYA issues respectively deal with the demand-side of governance. No mechanisms have been created to reach out to citizens and citizens he right to information in Kenya is provided for in Article 35 of groups to utilize these mechanisms. Consequently, most citizens T the constitution which states that only engage with parliament through the one-way live broadcasts of parliamentary sessions without having any known practical avenues 1) Every citizen has the right of access to – to engage with the law making body or their representatives (MPs). (a) information held by the state; and But this is dependent on the fact that they own a television set and (b) any information that is held by another person and that is have electricity in the catchment area. required for the exercise or protection of any right or freedom. However, all is not lost as parliament like all other institutions of 2) Every person has the right to demand the correction or de- governance must reform to be in tandem with the new constitutional letion of untrue or misleading information which affects the dispensation. Therefore, we believe this projects reports and results person. will inform the imminent institutional and legal reforms by parlia- 3) The state has the obligation to publish and publicize any ment. Given the recent government investment in setting up fibre- important information affecting the life of the nation 4) Parliament shall enact legislation to provide for access to optic cables, ICTs have the potential to have the state, the market information and civil society engage for better accountability, transparency, and responsiveness. However, lack of information and poor communica- Other right to information legal provisions in Kenya include: tion systems continue to hamper effective people’s participation in governance. • Parliamentary Standing order No. 31 on custody of Journals and records Thus, this pilot study is designed to gauge the openness, acces- • Parliamentary Standing order No. 180 on Public access to meet- sibility and responsiveness of parliament and the parliamentarians ings of select committees aiming to build a body of knowledge on the challenges, successes • The Anti-corruption and Economic Crimes Act 2003 including and pathways that citizens employ in engaging with parliament. It the Anti-corruption And Economic Crimes (Amnesty And Resti- seeks to enhance access to information and genuine citizen partici- tution) Regulations of 2011 pation both as a measure of consolidating participatory democracy • The Public Audit Act Chapter 412A [(Revised Edition 2009 and enhancing citizen’s ability to hold institutions of governance ac- (2003)] and countable and transparent. It will help raise the agenda of the need • The Public Officers Ethics Act 2003 for people to engage with their elected leaders, participate and be included in the decisions reached by parliament without falling back This right gives the public and other stakeholders such as the pri- on the old assumption that once elected MPs will always speak for vate sector, civil society and media an opportunity to obtain informa- the electorate. This will thus ensure the demand-side of parliament tion that will not only assist in their role in ensuring accountability is well mobilized and engages effectively while the supply-side is and transparency in governance but also that which will aid and better equipped to generate information and disseminate and re- enhance their enjoyment of other rights. spond to the demands of citizens. The right to access information is placed within the chapter of the This consequently becomes the first component of a series of bill of rights which brings with it several advantages. First, as a bill planned research and programmatic work around Kenya’s parlia- of right, the right belongs to each individual and not granted by the ment and access to information. It is our opinion that lessons drawn State. Second, the right binds all law and binds all State organs and from this project would inform future replication or roll out of the persons. Third, the courts can develop law to give it effect in the project to other constituencies nationally. event it is non-existent in legislation. Further, it places a duty on State organs to observe, respect, protect, promote and fulfill the bill of rights; It provides ‘locus standi’ (right to appear before a court)

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 9 for aggrieved persons claiming that the right has been denied, vio- lated or infringed or threatened; It allows informal documents in any proceedings brought alleging infringement of the right; and it allows limitation to the right only by law (legislation) and only to the extent that the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in an open and demo- cratic society.

The implications are far reaching and will have the effect of allowing the public and other stakeholders to effectively bring about transparency and accountability in governance. It must be remembered that the state previously thrived on secrecy and laws that allowed or provided loopholes for the State to withhold vital information. Being a constitutional right, it therefore takes precedence over legislation such as the Official Secrets Act.

Despite the fact that there is no enabling access to information law in the country yet and the legislation is also not among the prior- 1.1. OBJECTIVES ity legislations provided for in the new Constitution, the right to information benefits from its elevation in the Constitution as a bill of The objectives of the research were: right. This then follows that the right can be enforced and benefits i. To strengthen and empower the citizens from across the received immediately the Constitution was promulgated, even in the socio-economic divide in 32 constituencies in 22 counties in absence of a right to information legislation. Kenya to use the “right to information” (RTI) to leverage their participation and engagement with parliament as a public in- 1.0. RESEARCH PROBLEM stitution and their respective MPs. ii. To enhance access to information and genuine citizen par- Parliament as a key policy making institution is largely inaccessible ticipation both as a measure of consolidating participatory to its citizens. As a consequence its operations lack transparency democracy and enhancing citizen’s ability to hold institutions and accountability to its key stakeholders; the citizens. Accord- of governance accountable and transparent. ingly, low participation is ensued from both academia and general iii. To build, through applied research, a body of knowledge on citizens in regard to parliamentary issues. A gap that this research parliament’s accessibility and mechanisms employed to enhance citizen’s access, effective dialogue and participation seeks to fill. using current Information, Communication and Technology advancement. iv. To develop a common understanding on access to information provisions in order to strengthen Access/Right to information (ATI/RTIs) coalitions/networks.

1.2. THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The research undertook to assess the extent of public access to parliamentary processes and the electorate’s access to their area MP from the 32 constituencies. Specifically it:

a. Assesses the responsiveness of parliament and that of the MPs to the citizens’ inquiries, b. Evaluates the institutional arrangement (s) for access to in-

10 | Right & Access to Information formation: the systems and structures that exist for dissemi- 1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY nation of information to the public and for proactive public The study has borrowed and refined methodologies used in other engagement; and in the case of the MP, the arrangements/ studies on access to information conducted by ARTICLE 19 East- structures put in place by the MP to engage with his/her con- ern Africa focusing more on participatory research (PR) which stituents employs process and capacity building. Here, individuals involved The research would form a representative access picture of the en- as researchers and respondents were engaged to individually and tire country collectively reflect on the context-historical, political, economic, legal and cultural aspects and make sense of it from a prism of 1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS enhancing participation democracy, good governance and accountability. The researchers and the respondents examined together the The project undertook to find answers to the following six key ques- current modes of access to information and parliament with a view tions: to change and improve it. The research therefore became not just a) What is the legal, institutional and administrative structure an entry to the field but a central focus for achieving the expected for allowing citizens to access information on parliament change. and for parliament to be effective? The research also adopted both qualitative and quantitative methods b) What are the pertinent issues in each of the constituen- of data collection. We sent out both oral and written request for in- cies, who frames them and what guides the selection and formation. The information received was augmented by promotional appropriateness of issues MPs have chosen to highlight and interviews to specific respondents and literature review on matters questions asked to the executive (ministers)? of transparency, accountability and accessibility of the Parliament of c) What are the mechanisms and platforms at the constitu- Republic of Kenya. ency levels for citizens to access information and engage The following methodologies were employed: effectively with parliament and how effective are they? d) What are the most effective ways that contributions of the DESK REVIEW citizenry can be generated, harnessed and presented to parliament and policy makers using various ICTs? A desk research on legal and policy framework on parliamentary ac- e) How else can citizens participate in the affairs of parliament cessibility, accountability and transparency was done. apart from the one-way none interactive live broadcasts? f) What mechanisms are available and in use for formal and SAMPLING informal engagements between citizens and parliament, what are the outcomes of such engagements and how may they be improved for better and effective public access and Sample of 32 MPs was chosen out of the 222 legislators for the participation? A study. Of the chosen, 10 were female representing (31percent) and 22 were male representing (69 percent) of the sample size.

These were chosen based on Longevity, Participation, 1st Term or Gender and small party as per the methodology below.

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 11 TABLE 1: Sampling Methodology

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT CONSTITUENCY COUNTY REASON

Coast Province 1. Danson Mungatana Garsen Tana River Longevity/ Participation 2. Najib Balala Mvita Mombasa Longevity 3. Naomi Shabaan Taveta Taita Taveta Longevity/Lone Elected Female MP in the region 4. Chirau Ali Mwakwere Matuga Kwale Longevity

North Eastern Province 5. Maalim Farah Lagdera Garissa Participation 6. Hussein Mohammed Abdikadir Mandera Central Mandera Participation/ 1st Term

Rift Valley Province 7. Linah Jebii Marakwet East Elgeyo Marakwet Longevity/ Female 8. Margaret Kamar Eldoret East Uasin Gishu Participation/ 1st Term/F 9. Joshua Kutuny Cherengany Trans Nzoia Participation/ 1st Term 10. George Saitoti Kajiado North Kajiado Longevity 11. Hellen Sambili Mogotio Nakuru Female 1st Term

Western Province 12. Wycliffe Oparanya Butere Kakamega Longevity 13. Musalia Mudavadi Sabatia Vihiga Longevity 14. Moses Wetangula Sirisia Bungoma Longevity 15. Chrysanthus Okemo Nambele Busia Longevity

Nyanza Province 16. James Rege Karachuonyo Homa Bay Participation/Innovation 17. Otieno Kajwang Mbita Migori Longevity 18. Wilfred Machage Kuria Migori Longevity 19. Samson Ongeri Nyaribari Nyamira Longevity

12 | Right & Access to Information Central Province 20. Esther Murugi Nyeri Town Nyeri 1st Term/ Female 21. Martha Karua Gichugu Kirinyaga Participation/longevity Female 22. Peter Kenneth Gatanga Murang’a Participation 23. Nguyai Lewis Kikuyu Kiambu 1st Term Eastern Province

24. Kalonzo Musyoka Mwingi North Machakos Longevity 25. Charity Ngilu Kitui Central Kitui Longevity/ Female 26. Kiraitu Murungi Imenti South Meru Longevity 27. Gitobu Imanyara Central Imenti Meru Small party/Participation 28. Mohammed Abdi Kuti Isiolo North Isiolo Longevity

29. Wavinya Ndeti Kathiani Machakos 1st Term/ Female Nairobi Province 30. Beth Mugo Dagoretti Nairobi Longevity/ Participation 31. Elizabeth Ongoro Kasarani Nairobi 1st Term/ Participation 32. Raila Odinga Langata Nairobi Longevity

To undertake the study, Article 19 Eastern Africa trained 96 per- through email and or hard copy letters. sons from the sampled constituencies (3 persons from each) on the provisions of Right and Access to information as guaranteed by A waiting time period for a response was 10 working days after de- the Kenyan constitution and UDHR and mandated them to engage livery of the written request and attempts for oral submission. If no with parliament and their area MP on the research areas stipulated response was received within this time another follow-up request above. The requestors were picked from a broad spectrum of so- was to be submitted and 10 days window period extension provided ciety with a majority from the civil society organizations including before a final conclusion was reached. CBOs, NGOs etc; minority representatives, the youth, paralegals, ordinary men and women among others. Responses to the fielded questions were classified in nine broad categories: The requestors were engaged in sending physical requests to their 1. Unable to submit- it was not physically possible to deliver MPs and parliamentary staff like the Speaker, the Clerk, the Direc- the questions or access the target individual- This will be tor of information and research services and the Hansard Editor on recorded after 2 unsuccessful attempts are made; prepared key public questions. 2. Refusal to Accept- when the individual targeted refuses to accept either the written submission or oral attempts to The information requests had five questions, categorized into three talk to them; areas namely routine, difficult and sensitive. The questions were 3. Oral Refusal- where the individual or his/her aides orally to be submitted either orally or written. The oral submissions were indicate that they do not provide such information; done via fielding questions or use of phone while the written was 4. Written Refusal- refusal to provide information given via

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 13 a written response either in response to oral requests or 2. RESEARCH FINDINGS written submission; 5. Mute Refusal- No response to all types of responses from the individuals or cagey answers. 2.1 ACTION RESEARCH FINDINGS: INFORMATION 6. Late Response- when responses come after expiry of the REQUESTS ANALYSIS 10 working day period though it answers all the questions. On the first Phase of the research, 32 constituencies were sampled. 7. Incomplete answers- information provided is very incom- The representative MPs of these constituencies were reached with plete and does not make sense or irrelevant and could be questions to gauge their responsiveness to questions asked by the interpreted to mean refusal constituents. The research trained a total of 86 requestors on the 8. Information Not held-individual response indicates that provisions of Right and Access to information as guaranteed by the he/she does not hold such information being sought by Kenyan constitution and UDHR and mandated them to engage with the interviewer parliament and their area MP on the stipulated research areas. It 9. Referral- When the interviewer is referred to another indi- also furnished them with research questions that would aid in the vidual or office for answers assessment of responsiveness of Parliament in regard to different access levels. Further, Article 19 Eastern Africa engaged 32 research assistants to field in questionnaires to the sample population of 1120 respon- Out of the questions asked, only 4 percent were responded to within dents. Each research assistant interviewed at least 35 respondents the 10-working days timeframe, about 24 per cent on the second from at least three locations in the constituency to form a repre- attempt while the rest received mute response. An estimated 63 sentative sample of the 1120 respondents. Since the youth form a percent of the questions fielded to the Speaker, Clerk, Hansard Edi- majority of the voters in the country, the research targeted a three to tor and the Director of research in parliament went un-responded. two (3:2) representative ratio of the youth to the old. The research noted with concern the unwillingness of some request- 1.5 RESEARCH TOOLS ors to ask questions; about 40 percent of those contacted to request some information never did so. An after analysis found out that at The following research tools were employed to enhance information some areas, there were incidences where the requestors were in- gathering: timidated by the sitting MP and or his/her cronies especially in the i. General Observations coast where the requestors were told off and branded inciters send ii. Field visits by political enemies to tarnish their otherwise ‘good names.’ In other iii. Training and focus group discussions areas the requestors were skeptical to request some ‘sensitive infor- iv. Use of Questionnaires mation’ for fear of harassment or intimidation; an indication that the

14 | Right & Access to Information citizens are not as confident in engaging with their MP or otherwise A total of 1120 direct respondents from the sample size were inter- parliament. viewed. Of these, 57 per cent were male and 43 per cent female; 56 percent youth and 44 per cent being old. 2.2 MP AND PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY, TRANS- PARENCY AND PARTICIPATION FINDINGS

Phase two of the research sought to find out the constituents perception and reality on how accessible and transparent their MP’s are as well as the constituents’ access to parliamentary proceedings, their participation and perception on Parliaments transparency.

The following were the key findings from the analysis of the responses:

FIGURE 1: GENERAL MP ANALYSIS

NB: The above indices were generated from the research data. Indicating the level of knowledge of the area MP, the indicative percentage of the constituents with the MPs details, the level and extend of interaction while capturing the most probable venues for interaction; the level of know-your MP and the general level of accessibility.

A 95 percent confidence interval and a considerable large error term of 0.05 was adopted for the research in consideration of the un-ascertained polity of the respondents.

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 15

DISCUSSIONS tion that a majority of the legislators rarely visited some parts, if not all of their constituencies. 1. Knowledge of the Area MP The research found out that while a majority of the MPs were known 4. MP’s CV and Manifesto by their constituents (94.4 per cent), only 36.8 per cent had the The research sought to underscore the constituents’ acquaintance MP’s contacts and 35.5 per cent knew how their area MP could with the area MP’s CV and his/her manifesto for the constituency in be contacted. About 63 percent neither had the MPs contacts nor a bid to hold them accountable to their promises. Only 35.6 percent knew how to contact the MP. While it has been obvious to the area of the constituents knew their MP’s CV and manifesto and out of MP that once elected, they would be known to all of his or her con- the 63.9 percent who did not know their MP’s CV or manifesto, only stituents, the research found it not true. Extra measures including 20.4 percent sought to find information regarding the same. This in- regular visits and engagement with the constituents would enhance dicates that a majority of the constituents are not as informed about the constituents’ knowledge of the MP. their member of parliament and that the basis of their voting is not entirely on a person’s CV or Manifesto but on other factors as well. 2. Nature and Extend of Interaction In terms of the nature of interaction, about 26 percent interacted 5. Devolved Funds with their MP officially while 37 percent interacted with their MP An estimated 46 percent of the respondents directly benefited from informally seeking personal favors, official undertakings or commu- the devolved funds. In terms of impact and depth of service delivery, nal good services. This implies that a majority of the constituents to it implies an average satisfaction and feeling of involvement. some extend find informal ways of engaging with their MP appropri- ate as a bulk of their problems are considered ‘informal’. Among the most interactive MPs are Hon. Raila, Mudavadi, Makw- ere, Ngilu, Karua, Farah, Saitoti and Farrah.

3. MP’s Visit to the area 14.3 per cent of the respondents said their MP visited their constituency at least once a week, 36.9 per cent of the respondents indicated that their MP visited their area at least once a month while 58 per cent saying that their Mp visited their area rarely an indica- SOURCE: ARTICLE 19 MP Accessibility Research 2011

16 | Right & Access to Information From Fig. 2 above: With a 100 per cent score indicating full accessibility to the constituents, majority of the MPs would have scored an E-grade on the excel- lent meter, 85% of the legislators scored below 30%. Only 15 per cent of the sampled MPs scored above 30 per cent. In fact only 4 MPs in the research namely Danson Mungatana, James Rege, Martha Karua and Charity Ngilu scored above 50 percent.

B. PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY

FIGURE 3: GENERAL PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY

There has been many positive developments with regard to access to information in parliament for instance live broad casts of parliament and some House Commit- tees like, Finance; Public Investments Committee and the Public Accounts Com- mittee among others; the availability of Hansard reports from past parliamentary proceedings, and the re- launching of the website. However, from the report, access has not been guaranteed with 87 percent of the respondents still found it difficult to access parliament and 79 percent of them found it difficult to participate in its proceedings. Generally, only 27 per cent of the respondents had ever managed to visit parliament. Of these, only 13 percent could access parliament, 39 percent follow proceedings and only 21 per cent having participated directly in parliamentary processes.

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 17 FIGURE 4: PARLIAMENT ANALYSIS

1. Participation on Proceedings ing, public sitting and other, 46 per cent of the respondents tended to radio and 51 per cent tended to use television. Other channels An estimated 67 percent of the respondents indicated to have never were rarely used. In fact, nearly all the respondents had never participated in any parliamentary processes or engaged with par- known that they were able to attend parliamentary sessions by seek- liament; participation implying interacting with parliament and its ing permission to sit in the public gallery. Similarly, most of them processes through its various channels of access. While it is true did not know that Parliamentary Committees held public sittings that the citizens empower parliament to conduct business on their behalf, it does not imply, in that matter, that parliament does not subsequently engage with the citizens; it is in fact, good practice for parliament to report back to the citizens and request for feedback and consequently allow the citizens to evaluate whether its undertakings is in tune to the mandate given.

2. Parliament’ proceedings & Channels Used Parliament has various channels from which the public can access its proceedings. The research sought to find out the citizen usability of the various channels or put different audience reach of any of the channels deployed by parliament.

Out of the available channels, that is radio, television, web stream-

18 | Right & Access to Information on scrutinizing draft laws and also when discussion specific issues • Proper supervision of the constituency projects within their mandate partly because parliament does not share to • Make use of the social networking sites to increase reach the public its itinerary and while it broadcasts its sittings in national and coverage TV and radio, a majority of the respondents are not privy to these: • Balance his time between national politics and constituency further channels and modes of communication could be employed concerns to supplement effective dissemination • Decentralize services

3. General Knowledge of Parliamentary Accessibility 3. ACCESS TO INFORMATION GOOD PRACTICES An estimated 34 per cent of the interviewed had a general knowledge of what goes on in parliament implying that a majority of the interviewed had no hint of what goes on in parliament 3.1 PRINCIPLES OF ACCESS The following are the main elements of good participatory practices; 4. Parliaments rating on accessibility Generally, only19.25 percent of the respondents approved parlia- a) Openness & Transparency: ment and parliamentary proceedings as accessible. While 60 per- The Public Consultation will be actively promoted via internet, cent of the respondents followed parliamentary proceedings, only media etc encouraging everyone to participate. 32 percent participated either directly through the available channels or indirectly or indirectly through their area MP. b) Timeliness: For effective consultations, timeliness is of essence. A timely response enhances effective participation.

c) Proactive Disclosure The law should place an obligation on public bodies to publish, on an automatic or proactive basis, information of key public importance. Automatic disclosure is also a very important means of ensuring that information is provided to the public.

d) Clear engagement procedures: This facilitates orderly engagements and participation. This makes it easy for requesters to file a request.

e) Active collaboration: Those that participated in pariamentary proceedings through vari- Participatory processes aim at placing final decisions in the ous channels however complained that the channels were not in- hands of the public. Therefore, the public should be actively teractive. engaged and access should be denied only where disclosure would harm legitimate interests. c. Other Comments On Member of Parliament’s Accessibility

The respondents were asked for recommendations on what their 3.2 INDICATORS OF AN ACCESSIBLE MP Area MP could do to enhance his/her accessibility and the following were some of the responses: In relation to this research, Mzalendo.com, a recently launched • Make regular visits to the constituency website that monitors parliamentary processes outlined various • Establish a working phone where he/she should personally indicators of an accessible MP using the Kenyan experience. receive the calls Some of the indicators that an accessible MP should posses • Establish constituency offices include:

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 19 a) A Functional Email, According to Mzalendo-dot-com, Most of the accessible MPs spend b) A Constituency Website all weekends and holidays in their constituencies and while in the c) A Constituency Fax, constituency, they visit development projects, schools, major social d) Up To Date- Twitter functions, and spare time for people to meet people in their con- e) A Facebook Account, stituency office on various personal or community issues; they also f) Teleconferencing Facility posted Constituency reports in constituency local newsletters and g) Constituency Telephone number public notice boards within the constituency. Further, they have es- h) Personal Phone number tablished a working website for their constituencies to help them i) Operational Continental House (Parliamentary Building) connect with constituency members in the Diaspora to be informed phone number on continuous basis on what development initiatives are undertaken in their constituencies. They also use their websites to solicit for An analysis of some of the most accessible MPs from this research financial support for the implementation of various project proposals and including others in the 10th Parliament using the above indica- in the constituency like establishment of ICT centres. tors revealed that, those that were accessible had managed to establish a GIS database for the constituency based on recent satellite From this research and that of Mzalendo it is evidenced that Ac- imagery for the purposes of planning and have also promoted ICT cessible MPs not only use CDF for projects but work extra hard to awareness and training of the youth, students in schools and ordi- source for funds beyond CDF. This is seen when Hon. Eng.James nary people. Progressive MPs according to Mzalendo-dot-com have Rege MP Karachuonyo sampled in this research confirmed that he partly achieved this through their own personal initiative with the does not rely on CDF alone in enhancing communication but also help of the Constituency Development Fund. Through donor fund- exhaust networks he has created beyond the Kenyan borders. Hon. ing, most of the progressive MPs were able to establish ICT training Wilbur Otichillo MP Emuhaya in an interview with Mzalendo-dot- clinics in their constituencies and computer training in some sec- com,says he subsidizes his ICT and Access to his projects through ondary schools. diaspora funding, own initiatives and funding. He also admits that the constituency website has played a great role in convincing do- nors to assist in facilitating development in the constituency. TABLE SHOWING FACEBOOK AND TWITTER ACCESSIBILITY OF THE SAMPLE FRAME CONSTITUENCY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT HAVE FACEBOOK A/C HAVE TWITTER A/C

Coast Province 1. Garsen (Tana River) Danson Mungatana Yes @dansonmungatana on Twitter 2. Mvita (Mombasa Najib Balala Yes @tunajibu on Twitter 3. Taveta (Taita Taveta) Naomi Shabaan Yes Not on Twitter 4. Matuga (Kwale) Chirau Ali Mwakwere Yes Not on Twitter North Eastern Province 1. Lagdera (Garissa) Maalim Farah Yes Not on Twitter 2. Mandera Central (Mandera) Hussein Mohammed Abdikadir Yes Not on Twitter Rift Valley Province 1. Marakwet East (Elgeyo Marakwet) Linah Jebii Yes Not on Twitter 2. Eldoret East (Uasin Gishu) Margaret Kamar Yes Not on Twitter 3. Cherengany ( Trans Nzoia)) Joshua Kutuny Yes Not on Twitter

20 | Right & Access to Information 4. Kajiado North (Kajiado) George Saitoti Yes Not on Twitter 5. Mogotio Hellen Sambili No Not on Twitter Western Province 1. Butere (Kakamega) Wycliffe Oparanya Yes Not on Twitter 2. Sabatia (Vihiga) Musalia Mudavadi Yes Not on Twitter 3. Sirisia (Bungoma) Moses Wetangula Yes Not on Twitter 4. Nambale Chrysanthus Okemo Yes Not on Twitter Nyanza Province 1. Karachuonyo (Homa Bay) James Rege Yes @James Rege on Twitter 2. Mbita (Migori) Otieno Kajwang Yes Not on Twitter 3. Kuria (Kuria) Wilfred Machage Yes Not on Twitter 4. Nyaribari (Nyamira) Samson Ongeri No Not on Twitter Central Province 1. Nyeri Town (Nyeri) Esther Murugi Yes Not on Twitter 2. Gichugu (Kirinyaga) Martha Karua Yes @Martha_W_Karua on Twitter 3. Gatanga (Murang’a) Peter Kenneth Yes @Peter_Kenneth on Twitter 4. Kikuyu (Kiambu) Nguyai Lewis Yes @lewisnguyai Eastern Province 1. Mwingi North (Machakos) Kalonzo Musyoka Yes @skmusyoka 2. Kitui Central (Kitui) Charity Ngilu Yes Not in Twitter 3. Imenti South (Meru) Kiraitu Murungi Yes @KiraituMurungi 4. Central Imenti (Meru) Gitobu Imanyara Yes Not in Twitter 5. Isiolo North (Isiolo) Mohammed Abdi Kuti Yes Not in Twitter 6. Kathiani (Machakos) Wavinya Ndeti Yes Not in Twitter Nairobi Province 1. Dagoretti Beth Mugo No Not in Twitter 2. Kasarani Elizabeth Ongoro Yes Not in Twitter 3. Langata Raila Odinga Yes @Odinga_Raila

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 21 Both Reports shows that most accessible MPs have invested in so- However, Information is power and any parliament or politician’s at- cial media networks with their constituents. They have twitter and titude to sharing information with the citizens says a great deal about facebook accounts. how it views power itself and how it views the relationship between itself and the people who elected it. According to Mzalendo – dot - com Eye on Kenyan Parliament, 90.6% (29/32) Members of Parliament sampled on this research Consequently, effective citizen engagement or involvement will de- are frequent users of facebook as a mode of communication with pend on daily decisions by parliamentary officials, constituency of- their constituents while 9.4% (3/32) of the sample frame do not use ficers and the parliamentarians themselves to apply the law in the facebook and do not have facebook accounts. manner intended. Addressing the culture of secrecy successfully will henceforth build trust amongst citizens and enhance their par- Mzalendo – dot - com further denotes that only 21.8 % (7/32) of the ticipation in decision-making processes. Thus the public will better sample frame have twitter accounts whereas a huge percentage of understand their role, which in turn could reduce friction, misunder- 79.2% (25/32) of the sampled MPs do not have twitter accounts. standings and unwarranted criticism. These accounts help the legislators to reach out to their constituents from time to time and whenever it may not be practical for them to be on the ground. This is a clear indication that Information RECOMMENDATIONS technologies can greatly facilitate access to information and further • Parliament should enact a Right To Information (RTI) law accessibility of the MP to his/her constituents. and embrace a proactive disclosure policy to ensure free flow of information NB: Due to the limitations of the scope of this research, a future research should be undertaken to document various good practices • Since parliament is least understood by citizens; it should and innovations by members of parliament to enhance accessibil- embrace a proactive disclosure policy to ensure free flow of ity. information about its operations and decisions and limit the extreme bureaucratic demands before one gets access to CONCLUSION MPs or the Clerk of National Assembly.

Access to information is now entrenched in the Kenyan constitution • More advocacies on RTI are needed. Public education as a fundamental right. This means that every Kenyan has the right campaigns should be undertaken to ensure that the public to access all media, internet, art, academic writings, and information are aware of their right to access information. Schools and held by government; the right to use or to demand rights to health, universities should be used to promote civic understanding to a clean environment, to truth and to justice. This holds the gov- about the right to access information. ernment, parliament and the elected officials accountable for their promises, obligations and actions and further preventing corruption • Parliament should develop a simple and easy to read citi- which thrive in secrecy. zen’s guide both audio and visual on how parliament oper- ates and how to access information on parliament or adopt Invariably, the value of transparent and accessible information sys- and publish easy to read booklet on Know your Parliament tems has been recognized as a basis for sustainable development (draft already developed by ARTICLE 19) that is bottom-up. Here, citizens have the right and ability to influ- ence decisions about the things that affect them and their com- • Parliament should have its Library well furnished with all pro- munities. But as it is, citizens continue to struggle with key barriers ceedings from independence in soft and hard copies. The such as the general lack of resources and capacities, the culture of Library should be open for public access. It should also seek secrecy within public bodies including parliament, the remaining to have a complete list of records that they hold, and which distrust of civil society organizations and media as well as the politics are open, accessible to the public. in order to create a de- of patronage. tailed academic resource of choice on parliamentary issues in Kenya.

22 | Right & Access to Information veloping a service charter and integrity pact that can be used • Establish official online consultation forums which should be to hold members of parliament accountable in between elec- well publicized. The Online consultations should be run to tions. help MPs draw upon public experience and/or expertise that can inform specific areas of policy and legislation • The Hansard and the Motions adopted are often available online but since majority (99 per cent) of the citizens cannot • Use ICTs to make their legislative & Scrutiny functions more access it, parliament should consider dissemination of infor- transparent. Citizens should be able to watch proceedings mation through other means such as radio broadcasting or online, both live and archived and also search specific de- translate them into local languages. bates and issues. The MPs and parliament should better utilize more blogs, webcasts, list serves, video conference • Members of Parliament and parliamentary officials ought to equipment and links and email chart groups linked to each act openly and be responsive. constituency’s ICT village to enable parliament, MPs and citizens engage effectively on policy issues.

• Open debate on re-call clause on non-accountable legisla- END NOTES tors and Objective measure to inform recall i.) A list of the sampled constituencies, the criterion of sampling including the number of respondents is given under the • Parliament to develop simple and easy to read citizen’s guide research methodology in chapter 1. both audio, visual & on Braille ii). The project adopts the definition of youth as in the Constitu- • MPs should adapt to the use of ICT in different ways and at tion of Kenya, 2010 being the collectivity of all individu- different speeds. als in the Republic of Kenya who have attained the age of 18 years nut have not attained the age 35 years. • Parliament must train MPs on ICTs and design systems of real-time transparency so that citizens can monitor both par- iii). See among others, Institute of Civic Affairs, 2005, Kenyan liamentary proceedings and activities of their own MPs while Parliament, Nairobi; Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2006, encouraging real-time response. Parliament and Democracy in the Twenty- First Century: A Guide to Good Practice • More civil societies should work with parliament to draft per- formance measures for open and responsive engagements iv). See among others Coffey International Development, 2007. while doing regional and global comparison of other parlia- The Role of Communication in Good Governance: De- ments’ best practices. tailed Analysis. http://www.dcern.org/portal/documents/ GovernanceSummaryPaper_003.pdf (Accessed April • Parliament should ensure that members of the public can 26,2010) submit requests for information in person, for instance at an accessible reception desk or area. Information offices should v). See annexure 2 at the end of the report for the detailed be clearly designated and easy to locate. research questions • Access to information laws and implementation regulations should state clearly that the failure of MPs and parliamentary officials to respond to requests for information is a violation of the public’s right to access public information.

• The Parliamentary Service Commission should look into de-

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 23 APPENDIX ANNEXURE 1

QUESTIONNAIRE ON MP(s) & PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY

QUESTIONNAIRE ON PARLIAMENT & MPs

Name: ……………………………………………………………...... ……. (Optional)

Sex: Male Female

Age: 18-35 yrs Above 35 yrs old

Constituency: ……………………...………………County: ……….……...... ………………

Name of your MP: …………………………………………………...... …......

Please provide an honest feedback on the following:

PART A: QUESTIONS ON YOUR MPs

1. Do you know your area MP? Yes No

2. Do you have his or her contacts? Yes No If Yes which type? Mobile/ Cell: Email: Office line: Postal Address: All of these:

3. Have you ever contacted him or her on any issue as a member of his/her constituency? Yes: No: If Yes, was there a response? Yes No

How often do you contact him/her?

Rarely Once in a while Quite often Only when there is need

4. Have you ever interacted with him or her? Yes No

If yes, where? (Please indicate the forum or place you met or interacted) ………………………………...... ………… What was the nature of your interaction? Official Informal Interview

5. What service(s) have you, as a person sought from your MP( If any) ......

24 | Right & Access to Information What was the nature of the service?

Personal Official Communal good

6. How often does your MP visit your area and or other areas/parts of your constituency?

Every weekend At least once a week At least once every month Rarely

7. Are you conversant with your MP’s CV and his manifesto for the constituency?

Yes No

If No, Have you ever tried to ask? Yes No

8. How would you rate your MP in terms of approachability and accessibility? In a scale of 1-10 where 1 imply the most in-accessible and 10 - most accessible

9. Have you (or your immediate family member) been a beneficiary of any of the devolved funds?

Yes No

If yes how did you get to be a beneficiary? ...... 10. What other ways would you suggest your MP could employ to make him/her more accessible to his constituents, you included? ......

PART B: QUESTIONS ON PARLIAMENT

1. Have you ever visited parliament? Yes No

If yes, what was your experience? Was it easy to access? Yes No

2. Do you access or follow parliamentary proceedings? Yes No

If yes, through which medium?

Radio: TV: Web streaming: Public sitting in parliament: Other:

3. Have you ever commented or asked a question during or after the parliamentary sessions? Yes No

If yes, did you receive any response? Yes No

If yes, how long did it take for you to receive the feedback? ...... ………………….

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 25 If No, did you ask again or you gave up?

4. Do you know who to approach for what in parliament? Yes No:

5. In a scale of 1-5, how open and accessible do you think the Kenyan parliament is in terms of accessing its services and the proceedings? Where 1 indicates not open or accessible and 5 very open and accessible.

ANNEXURE 2

QUESTIONS ON PARLIAMENT & PARLIAMENTARY PROCESSES

I. RESPONDENTS – TEAM A

QUESTIONS TO THE SPEAKER TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

RQ01. Are there any standing orders or regulations that facilitate or require Parlia- ment to disclose information to the public routinely or upon request? How frequently does this hap- pen?......

RQ04. How much has Parliament spent on meeting requests by the various committees activities since 2008 including both local and international trips, allowances for committee meetings and related activities. Kindly provide documents to support these expenditures? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

QUESTIONS TO THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

RQ02. How many public meetings did you hold last year? How many constituents did you meet last year to discuss official business? How many letters/phone calls etc. did you receive from Constitu- ents?......

RQ04. What other mechanisms/platforms do you use to interact with your constituents? Have you deployed any ICT mechanisms to enhance this interaction?......

RQ06. Do your constituents have any access to the Hansard or a record of your contribution in parliament?......

26 | Right & Access to Information QUESTIONS TO THE CLERK OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

RQ 01 What is the procedure for securing an appointment with a Member of Parliament/ Speaker/ Clerk of National Assembly by a member of the public? ...... RQ06 Do you have an internal guide for classifying information and responding to information requests? If yes, is the document available to the public? ......

RQ07 Do you have an index of all documents held by Parliament clearly indicating those available for public access and those classified......

RQ11. How much did each MP get in mileage claims as disaggregated in the last three financial years? ......

RQ15. During the past four sessions of this parliament, how many times has the 10th Parliament been forced to sit beyond the prescribed times? How many MPs attended such extensions during the 1st-4th session? ......

QUESTIONS TO THE DIRECTOR INFORMATION AND RESEARCH SERVICES

RQ03. Is there a special office for submitting requests of information/petitions? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......

RQ05. Does Parliament publish an annual (or regular) report on requests for information received and answered and measures taken to promote transparency? If yes, is it publicly available? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

RQ09. Does Parliament require fees to be paid to process requests for information? If yes, do you publish these fees? ......

QUESTIONS TO THE HANSARD EDITOR

RQ04. Is it possible to get contributions made by a particular Member of Parliament in the August House? How long does it take to have the Hansard and any other parliamentary discussions to be uploaded on the website? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………...……….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………….....……………………………………………………......

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 27 II. RESPONDENTS - TEAM B

QUESTIONS TO THE SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

RQ02. What was the salary of the Speaker in 2009 and 20010 as disaggregated by wages, benefits and allowances? What were the travel costs incurred by the Speaker while on official visits in the past two years (2009-2010)? ......

RQ05. How much money does each Member of Parliament earn per month as broken down by basic salary and allowance? What other monetary or non-monetary benefits do they receive? How much money does each Member of Parliament receive for staffing, travel and other office and official expenses? Some Members have been accused for making false mileage claims in the past years. How many such cases have you dealt or are still pending resolution from the expenses incurred in the last parliament? …………………………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..… …………………………………………......

QUESTIONS TO THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

RQ01.Kindly share with us your CV, giving a brief of your background (kindly attach CV)......

RQ05. How many issues affecting your constituency have you ever raised in Parliament since 2008 and what was the response? ......

RQ08. What is your annual salary including benefits? How many members of staff do you have? Please provide their names and salaries. How much did you spend in the previous year on official travel and office expenses? Please provide documentation ……………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………......

QUESTIONS TO THE CLERK OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

RQ03. Is there a special office for submitting requests for information for the speaker/Clerk/ Members of Parliament? ......

RQ05. Do you publish an annual (or regular) report on requests for information received and responded to and measures taken to promote transparency, accessibility and accountability? If yes, is it publicly available?......

28 | Right & Access to Information QUESTIONS TO THE DIRECTOR INFORMATION AND RESEARCH SERVICES RQ02. Is there a guide, which members of the public can use to understand the process of making requests to parliament? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......

RQ06. Do you have an index of ALL documents held by Parliament or a list of publicly available documents/information? If yes, is it publicly available? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......

RQ08. Does Parliament have an internal guide for administering requests for information? If yes, is this document available to the public? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………......

QUESTIONS TO THE HANSARD EDITOR

RQ02. Are the reports posted on the website and how current are they? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………

III. RESPONDENTS – TEAM C

QUESTIONS TO THE SPEAKER TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

RQ03. How much money has Parliament spent on renovations and maintenance of its assets between 2008 and 2010 and what percentage is this against expenditure on other outputs? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

RQ06. How much money does each Member of Parliament earn per month as broken down by basic salary and allowance? What other monetary or non-monetary benefits do they receive? How much money does each Member of Parliament receive for staffing, travel and other office and official expenses? Some Members have been accused of making false mileage claims in the past years. How many such cases have you dealt or are still pending resolution from the expenses incurred in the last parliament? ......

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 29 QUESTIONS TO THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

RQ03. Do you have any specified times when your constituents are scheduled to meet with you? If yes when these times are and how many people do you meet per session? Do you have any records of the meeting and resolutions/actions agreed upon? ...... RQ07. How many development projects through the various devolved funds have you implemented in your constituency since 2008? What is your monthly expenditure on your Constituency? Kindly give a detailed breakdown on the itemized budget expenditure ………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………

QUESTIONS TO THE CLERK OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

RQ02. Is there a person tasked with receiving and dealing with requests for information from members of the public? ......

RQ04. Is there a special room for viewing information? ......

RQ08. What was the overall budget of parliament in the last 3 fiscal years? Kindly share one disaggregated by the major vote-heads. Kindly provide figures for amounts spent on salaries for staff and allowances to MPs since 2008. Are there any audited accounts for Parliament for the past three financial years and can one access them? ......

RQ10. How much did each MP get in sitting allowances as disaggregated in the last three financial years? ......

RQ 14 Parliament sits on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at specifically prescribed times. In the past four sessions of the 10th Parlia- ment how many sessions have had to be adjourned for lack of quorum? Is it possible to share lists of attendance of MPs on such occa- sions? ......

QUESTIONS TO THE DIRECTOR INFORMATION AND RESEARCH SERVICES

RQ01. Is there a person tasked with receiving and dealing with requests for information from members of the public? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......

RQ04. Is there a special room for viewing information and documents held in trust by Parliament? ?………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

RQ07. Do you have website that provides information about Parliament’s scope of responsibilities and operations? If yes, does the website provide information about the procedure of requesting/accessing information? ………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

30 | Right & Access to Information QUESTIONS TO THE HANSARD EDITOR

RQ01. What is the procedure to obtain copies of Parliamentary proceedings especially Hansard reports? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… RQ03. How accessible are reports from the Parliamentary Committees and what is the procedure for acquiring them? Are draft bills available for public comment? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………......

KENYAN PARLIAMENT ACCESSIBILITY | ACCOUNTABILITY | TRANSPARENCY 31

DEFENDING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND INFORMATION

ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa ARTICLE 19 Free Word Centre 60 Farringdon Road London EC1R 3GA ACS Plaza2nd Floor, Lenana Road T +44 20 7324 2500 F +44 20 7490 0566 P. O. Box 2653-00100 Nairobi E [email protected] W www.article19.org T. +254 20 3862230-2, | Right F. & +254Access 20 to Information3862231 32 © ARTICLE 19, London.

DEFENDING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND INFORMATION