Journalists, CSOs call for more Information, Engagement from Coast Region County Governments

Kenya Correspondents Association (KCA) held a two day workshop on Media and Devolution in Mombasa during which journalists and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) called for more effective engagement and pro-active release of information from the County Governments in the Coast region to facilitate public participation.  

Patrick Ochieng' of Ujamaa Center guides a session at the worksop

 The two- day workshop, which was part of KCA’s intervention aimed at Strengthening the Capacity of Correspondents to Generate Quality Content on Devolved Governments in Kenya, was held in Mombasa on March 24-25, 2015. It brought together over 30 participants, including journalists, representatives of civil society groups and Members of the County Assemblies.

The participants said the County Governments had failed to establish effectives systems for engagement with the media, CSOs and the public and in some cases were hostile to demands for critical information on their activities which was necessary for meaningful public participation.

Mombasa County was singled out for particularly being hostile to demands for information from the journalists and the public with some participants alleging cases of threats to those who were demanding information and accountability over the implementation of projects.

Kwale County was lauded for having made some efforts at improving its system of information sharing and interaction with journalists, the CSOs and the public but the participants noted that proper systems were yet to be established for improved and timely access to information needed for effective public audit of the government’s performance.

The workshop heard that powerful cartels were forming within the County Governments in the region that threatened to undermine service delivery through corrupt practices, mostly in the tendering and procurement with reports emerging that some key County Government officials had registered multiple companies that were increasingly getting favored in the award of tenders for lucrative projects.

Patrick Ochieng’ of Ujamaa Center led the workshop in discussing the gains and the emerging challenges and dynamics in the Coast Counties and the impact of insecurity on the implementation of Devolution in the Coast Region. 

He said the devolution implementation process faced challenges from a reluctant National Government  and the Parliament which had progressively slowed down the process and in some cases actively sabotaged it through failure to effectively manage the transition, peace meal release of funds, and passage of anti –Devolution laws.

“For the Coast Region, the failure and what clearly is a deliberate sabotage of the land reform process by the National Government spells danger as we may face major conflicts in the near future.  The politics that the National Government is playing with the land question, which manifests itself through the incessant wrangles between the Cabinet Secretary for Lands Cahrity Ngilu and the National Land Commission should be a major cause for worry, with grave implications for the Coast Region,” Said Ochieng’.

CSO officials, Simon Kate, the Network Co-odinator, Coast Civil Society Organization and Hamisa Zaja, the Regional Program Officer, Maji na Ufanishi (Water and Development) urged the County Governments to encourage greater openness and collaboration with the media and the CSOs for the benefit of the public. Ms Zaja said some MCAs had attempted to sabotage development initiatives by the CSOs in the region; a trend which he said threatened their collaboration in the service of the public.

A Member of the County Assembly (MCA) who is the Minority Leader in the Mombasa County Assembly Ms Maimuna Salim Mwamasa ( Shanzu Ward) and her nominated colleague Zeinab Dharwesh  defended the Mombasa County Government over accusations of failing to promote openness and greater public participation.

Some of the MCAs consult with Oloo Janak of KCA

“Public expectations are too high and members of the public do not also attend public forums even if invited unless they are paid transport and meal allowances. We always advertise over the radio and go round using public address systems to invite them for the forums but the level of participation remains low,” said Ms Mwamasa.

She admitted that many MCAs lacked the capacity to interrogate the budgets or hold the County Government Executive arm accountable but urged the media, CSOs and other stakeholders to exercise patience with the county governments saying they needed time to learn their roles as Devolution was a news system.

KCA National Chairman Oloo Janak urged the journalists to write investigative stories on the performance of the county governments saying there was need for appraisal of their performance two years since they were established, to inform public discourse and encourage accountability.

“Many Kenyans are bothered by the continued media focus on personalities and drama when it comes to reporting county governments and we need to make efforts to change this trend through issue based and well investigated stories that bring out both the gains so far realized and the challenges facing the County Governments in discharging their mandates,” Janak said. 

He urged the journalists to avoid being captured by both the County Governments and the emerging corrupt cartels who were keen to suppress information dissemination to the public through the media.

Urging the County Governments to establish effective structures for regular briefing to journalists on their activities, Janak at the same time warned County Government officials against threats to journalists writing on cases of corruption in the counties, which he said had been reported.

The workshop also discussed the legal and policy reforms in the media , safety and security of journalists and their impact on reporting Devolution;  the enduring  optimism in Devolution by Kenyans and the various scenarios building up within the context of the apparent failure to faithfully implement the Constitution and Devolution. 

Participants at the workshop expressed worry that the stability of the county could not be guaranteed unless the constitution was implemented faithfully and within the stipulated time frame to assure the citizens of improved governance, equity in the distribution of resources but also more prudent and accountable use of the resources.

William Oloo, Chairman .Kenya Correspondents Association(KCA) - Part 1

The Devolution Forum Speaks on Corruption in Government

The Devolution Forum (TDF), a multi-sectoral alliance convened by civil society, to bring together like-minded networks, organizations and individuals united for the promotion and protection of devolution and its implementation as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya 2010, has cautioned agains the dangers of the return of mega corruption in Kenya.

Isiolo Marsabit Road: Such infrastructure projects are sources of corruption

The Forum says within the last two years since Jubilee Coalition came  been in power, the country has witnessed a return of corruption to levels that are comparable only to Kenya’s one-party era, when corruption was part of the everyday experience of citizens.

The Forum officials said at a Press conference in Nairobi on March 20, 2015 that within the last two years, corruption network had regrouped and were fighting with vengeance.

"Most of them (corruption scandal) involve unbelievably large sums of money that would otherwise have gone into critically needed public services, others implicate public officials, like members of the IEBC, in whom the public expects unquestionable integrity but who now find themselves embroiled in scandals. Worse still, corruption scandals now also implicate the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), constitutional mechanism set up to lead the war on corruption, leaving the question as to who the country can now turn to in the fight against corruption", the forum said in a statement.

The statment went on: "Under Jubilee, old arguments once used to justify mega-corruption have resurfaced and are being used for the same purpose. The Anglo-Leasing scandal, that affects three presidents, including the current president, was justified on the grounds that the contracts in question were necessary to secure the country from acts of terrorism.

The unprecedented insecurity that the country has faced in the last two years makes it clear that this argument was false when it was first made, and remains false today. Yet, it is the argument that is at the heart of the increasingly unaccountable relationship between the Kenya government and Safaricom, a company that set out to provide mobile telephony but which is now held out as a provider of security solutions, in contracts that have been awarded through single sourcing and at prices Safaricom determines".

Members of the TDF Lobby Group at a planning meeting recently

TDF warned that "the entry of Chinese companies on the Kenyan corruption scene has significantly reduced the possibility of accountability because these companies are prepared to pad kickbacks into contract prices, which is what explains the pricing variations witnessed during the Jubilee era".

The forum warned that citizens will not watch silently as these scandals take place and cited increasing citizens actions becuae there was complicity and inertia by the authorities, to whom they should turn for help.

"The heroic response by children of Langata Primary School represents a situation where the authorities refused to act, until children acted. In other situations, like the Standard Gauge Railway, the authorities have ignored the questions raised by citizens, in a show of contempt that is reminiscent of an era Kenya is emerging from".

The forum pointed out that where authorities had purported to prosecute, like the Anglo Leasing scandal, these prosecutions had been half-hearted and selective, with the authorities producing evidence discrediting the EACC, as a diversionary tactic aimed at undermining the prosecution.

The Forum noted that the EACC was now mortally wounded by credible allegations of corruption against not only the commissioners but also senior members of staff.

TDF has demanded the immediate resignation of the EACC led by its chair, Mumo Matemu and the other commissioners; the immediate cancellation of all the questionable contracts that Jubilee has awarded, including the standard gauge railway and the Safaricom/Hauwei contracts for the provision of security services; and a public disclosure of the shareholders of the “Chinese” company Pang, which has been at the forefront of the digital migration scandal.

Media stakeholders discusing digital Migration: a whiff of scandal

The Forum also demand that President Uhuru Kenyatta address the country within seven days, on what he proposedto do to address the runaway corruption that has engulfed his government or else "we shall begin a public mobilization for direct citizen action to address the problem of corruption in the country".

The statment by the lobby group said the president "must undertake to convene a national conference that will provide an inclusive platform for discussions on how to reconstitute the EACC, and also how to bring accountability for the corruption scandals that have come to light since Jubilee came to office".

Jubilee's Majority leader in the National Assembly Aden Duale has already dismissed the lobby groups demands claiming the forum had not authority to give an "ultimatum" to the president.

European Union and partners launch Governance and Devolution Project in Kisumu County

Catholic Organization for Relief and Development (Cordaid),Concern Worldwide (Concern) and Civil Society Organisations Network with financial support from the European Union (EU) have launched a Governance and Devolution project in Kisumu County, Kenya, to promote citizen’s inclusive participation in county planning and budgeting processes. 

Betty Okero of the CSO Network with Kisumu Women MCAs at a forum

The Project, which was launched on Friday March 20, 2015, also seeks to enhance financial transparency in the management of public resources at the County.  

Recent findings of a survey on Devolution and public participation in county budgeting and planning processes conducted by the University of Nairobi’s Institute for Development Studies in November/December 2014, highlights that about 80 percent of Kenyans do not participate in county budgeting and planning processes. The report further indicates that the public have no influence on county decision-making and have no access to information on county budgets, legislation and project Implementation plans.

“The EU devolution project is supporting   County Governments and local communities for transparent and    participatory    decision-making in accordance with the Constitution of Kenya 2010 .” Says Ms. Sunita Kapila, Programme Manager EU Delegation to Kenya.

The project will also support the implementation of relevant enacted laws on devolution in line with the County Government Act 2012, through capacity building of the Kisumu County Government and Non State Actors. 

Ruth Omukhango of Africa Women and Feature Service guides a citizen forum

“Cordaid’s priority is to contribute towards successful devolution in Kisumu and Isiolo Counties. Wewill work with the Kisumu County Government to ensure cost-effective and responsive development strategies and service delivery in accordance with the national standards and norms for public service delivery. The devolved structures are designed to create greater opportunities, responsiveness and accountability to the needs of citizens at the grassroots level.” Says Annelies Claessens, Country Director, Cordaid.

The project proposes to use community conversations, a social transformative approach that galvanizes communities to address the underlying causes of underdevelopment and vulnerability.

“Concern will use a tool called  community conversations to enhance the voice of the most poor and vulnerable  in county planning and decision making . We intend to foster connectivity  between the communities ,village and ward administrators by creating an enabling space for real and informed discussions. Says Wendy Erasmus, County Director, Concern Worldwide. 

Citizens participation saved this Taifa Park in Kisumu from land grabbers

Cordaid in partnership with CSO-Network and CEMIRIDE will implement the Devolution project in Isiolo and Kisumu Counties for three years from January 2015. 

Concern Worldwide jointly with Kisumu Medical and Education Trust (KMET), Community Action Rural Development (CARD) and Pastoralist Integrated Programme (PISP) will implement the project in Kisumu, Migori and Marsabit respectively. This project is funded by European Union.

KCA Holds Training Workshop on Media and Devolution in Turkana County

Kenya Correspondents Association (KCA) has concluded a two -day workshop for journalists based in Turkana County aimed at strengthening their capacity to generate quality and issue-based media content on Devolved Governments in Kenya.

The workshop, which was held in Lodwar Town on March 12-13, 2015, brought together more than 30 journalists from different media outlets based in the county.

A section of the correspondents at the workshop

The journalists were taken through intensive training sessions which focused on understanding the Devolved system of Government, the gains and emerging threats to the implementation of devolution and a discussion on a recent study on the impact of Devolution on selected counties done by the Constitution Reform Education Consortium (CRECO).

CRECO Chief Executive Officer who was among the facilitators, Regina Opondo also shared with the participants the findings of a recent survey by her organization on the impact of insecurity on the implementation of Devolution across the country in general and Turkana County in particular.

She said the surveys revealed that a majority of rural Kenyans appreciated the gains being made by the devolved governments on service delivery but were also alive to the challenges facing the devolved units including emerging cases of corruption.

Trainer, Regina Opondo guiding a session

On security, Opondo said the survey had revealed that cases of perennial and emerging conflicts in many counties were undermining the implementation of devolution and service delivery.

The correspondents also discussed the importance of the media in helping citizens to understand the devolution implementation process and the necessity for journalists to focus more attention on issue-based stories that could help the citizens understand the impact of devolution and hold their leaders more accountable.

KCA Chairman  Oloo Janak took the journalists through the current media environment in Kenya and explained the policy and legal challenges that continued to negatively impact on press freedom and which if not addressed, will continue to compromise the capacity of the media and journalists to report more effectively on devolution among other critical issues.  

Janak explained that KCA ‘s Project on media and devolution was aimed at building the capacity of correspondents to generate quality and issue-based media content on devolved governments.

He urged the journalists to remain ethical and avoid being captured by the County Governments, adding that there were worrying trends in some counties where it was becoming difficult for correspondents to generate in-depth, accurate and well investigated stories.

Media Council of Kenya Deputy Chief Executive Victor Bwire and a Program Officer in Charge of Media Monitoring Amos Kibet, made presentations on the finding of a survey the Council had done on reporting extractive industries in Kenya.

Bwire said the extractive industry in Kenya was among the emerging issues which presented challenges to journalists adding that this called for more training to build the capacities of journalists to report more accurately and ethically.

The Media Council’s presentation was part of a collaborative initiative with KCA in reaching the journalists in Turkana County, which is one of the areas that has not been within the mainstream of media operations and training in the country.

The county is among those that have suffered marginalization under Kenya’s development planning over the last 50 years. This has inevitably been reflected in the media sector as well.

A road across the Turkwel River In Lodwar: Many years of marginalization

However, both Janak and Bwire said there were increasing interventions by the media sector by among others, KCA and MCK to integrate the county and other previously marginalized areas in media training and coverage as part of national integration and enhancement of press freedom and freedom of expression.

The Turkana -based Journalists also had a session to share their experiences in covering the area, which has been wracked perennial inter-ethnic conflict based previously on cattle rustling but which has in recent times been turning into bloody violence over land, oil and other resources.

The journalists said they faced harsh terrain, hostility from the warring communities, threats from emerging vested interests, lack of adequate remuneration, facilitation and support by the media managers and owners, lack of access to information from government and Tullow Oil now operating in the area and unreliable communication and transport infrastructure.

They called for improved working conditions and guarantees over their safety and security due to the ongoing conflicts in, among others the Kapedo area where some of them had faced hostility and assault youths and leaders from the rival communities who accused the media of bias over the ongoing conflicts.

The Governor's Offices: A modest facility compared to other Counties

During the workshop, the journalists and Turkana County Government Officials and leaders had lively engagement sessions on a number of issues including restrictions or lack of access to information, hostility from the county leaders and lack of frameworks for regular engagement between the County leadership and the media.

However, the officers who represented the Turkana County Government at the workshop said efforts were already being made for sustainable engagement and building better understanding between both national and local media and journalists.

Impact of Devolution: A tarmacked street in Lodwar Town

Two senior County officials, Simon Rugu and Chris Alieta told the forum that the county government had recently invited and held sessions with editors from the national media based in Nairobi and had also started holding consultative forums with the media and journalists based in the county.

Janak said KCA would work closely with the county government and the local journalists in building a mutually beneficial and sustainable engagement framework to ensure a better working environment for the journalists and enhanced reporting of developments in the county.

The workshop held in Turkana was part of a yearlong project being implemented by KCA with support from Ford Foundation which covers Turkana County and selected counties in Nyanza, Western, Rift Valley, Nairobi and its environs and the Coast Region.

Kisumu Media Information Hub

The Kisumu Media Information Hub is envisaged to have the following roles/functions:

1. Linking Information and Development: promoting and using research to promote economic empowerment in the Lake Victoria Region
2. Building the Capacities of the media outlets in the region and the communities on:

• Environment
• Health
• Business/entrepreneurship
• Education
• Languages, Culture and the Arts
• Natural Resources/Extractive industries
• Tourism

4. Promoting and Highlighting Opportunities that exist in the Region for among others: 

• Professionals
• Youth
• Women
• Investors, both local and external

5. Generating and disseminating real time news and analyzed information from the region to the local and international media and other interested consumers;

6. Provision of opportunity, space and platform for media and community engagement and mentorship/trainings of  journalists;

7. Promoting media and community linkages with local academic and training institutions/universities to translate research into usable content and promote dissemination of research findings;

8. Promote linkages with international universities to offer thematic training for journalists on the roleof county media on development

Provide a center for ICT training to journalists and members of the local community

9. Develop and manage social media platforms for rapid and effective news and information dissemination; website, blogs, facebook, twitter,utubeetc;

10. Repository for information generated on and by County Governments, Civil Society Organizations, media training colleges and universities;

11. Provide up to date and regular analysis of events and development initiatives in the region, cities and towns and the available opportunities; 

•  The status of the counties, of the cities eg. Kisumu, Eldoret, Kakamega, Kisii, Kericho,Siaya, Migori, Homabay etc
• Counties Governors and legislative structures –the Governors, Members of the County Assemblies; women and men, elected, nominated etc
• County Development plans/ strategies,

• Ongoing development projects and their status and the level of citizens engagement/participation;

12. Promotion of citizens/community voices and engagement with the counties; women and youth innovation efforts

11. Media Research  Centre; providing analysis and interpretation of media coverage of the region and robust engagement with media outlets on offering relevant and community focused content;