For better services, citizens must take part in making the budget

In 1990, if residents of Marioshoni, Nakuru county, needed a clinical officer to be posted to their local health facility, they had a very slim chance of communicating this to those responsible for allocating resources.

Fast forward to 2016. If the same residents felt that they needed that clinical officer, they have an opportunity to communicate this to decision-makers in government. During the month of April, most counties held their budget consultative forums, where citizens had an opportunity to engage their county governments.

One of the most radical shifts in Kenya’s way of governance is in the area of public finance management.

Between independence and 2010, the process of planning how public finance was to be raised, appropriated, and expended was the preserve of a few technocrats, mostly at the Ministry of Finance, and a few officers in various other ministries. It was essentially a top-down approach to public finance management with very little or no involvement of the citizens in the process.

In 2010, we adopted a new constitution that flipped the budgeting process on its head. The public finance management approach made it mandatory for the process to be participatory, both at the national and county levels.

As a consequence of this change in approach, new laws, guidelines, and requirements were placed on the government at the national and devolved levels.

DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY

On the flip side, greater responsibility has been placed on the shoulders of the citizens, more so at county level. Citizens bear the responsibility of communicating their priorities and demanding accountability from their county governments.

However, three years after devolution kicked in, we are still stuck in the old mindset. Government, both at the county and national levels, seems to have a strong urge to control the budget-making process. Most people are still not sufficiently engaging with the government in communicating their priorities and demanding accountability for their taxes.

In order for Kenya to reap maximum benefit from the new public finance management approach, the mindsets of those in public service as well as the citizens must change.

It is important that both the national and county governments begin to value public participation. Both levels must go the extra mile in roping citizens into budget-making.

They must give citizens adequate notice of public participation events. They must use a mix of the most popular communication channels to inform citizens about where and when these forums will be held. They must also make available beforehand the documents to be discussed to enable the citizens to scrutinise them.

ELIMINATE BARRIERS

It is also important to ensure that these forums are conducted at the lowest level possible, preferably at ward level, so as to eliminate the barriers of distance and cost of travel for the citizens willing to participate.

It is also vital to allow for adequate time, set on a day that will allow many citizens to participate. The current practice of setting a three-hour limit on the time the citizens are supposed to scrutinise proposals, ask questions, and build consensus is not ideal.

Finally, it is important that county governments take on board citizens’ proposals as much as possible. Where they are not able to, they ought to give feedback, explaining why some of the proposals were not taken on board. This is important so that citizens are not discouraged from participating in the process in the future.

Citizens, for their part, must develop a culture of engaging with their governments, both at the national and county levels.

Considering that key areas of service delivery, such as primary health service provision, were devolved to county governments, it is crucial that both the governments and the citizens play their role in the budget-making process. Quality service delivery depends on effective public participation.

Dr Kamau is the country director, Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung Kenya. [email protected].