Public participation should have a framework to allow citizens to be involved

The Star Kenya

President William Ruto on Thursday said there's a legislation process to create a framework for citizens to be meaningfully involved in public participation since it is an opportunity to figure out how to resolve problems together.

Transcript

00:00I have made a commitment, and you've heard the Speaker of the Senate say, we did agree

00:09that public participation is not a sterile provision of the Constitution.

00:16It must amount to something.

00:19And it is the reason why we've been grappling as a nation, how do we actualize public participation?

00:26We are now working on legislation, as you've heard.

00:31In a couple of months, we should now have a framework that contextualizes, creates a

00:38framework for citizens to meaningfully participate in enacting policy, enacting legislation,

00:48and every act of government that requires the public to participate in.

00:52That is number one.

00:54Number two, we have now worked at the Attorney General's office, and I want to ask the civil

01:03society who are present here to work with the Attorney General as we improve three pieces

01:09of legislation.

01:10Number one, improve legislation on Evidence Act, so that we can deal with matters of corruption

01:17in the shortest time possible.

01:20Improve legislation on e-procurement, and make government procurement open, including

01:28making sure that it is in the public domain which contracts have been awarded, for how

01:35much money, to which companies.

01:38And so that the public can judge for themselves whether they are getting value for money,

01:43or they are being taken for a ride.

01:46I have made that commitment, the work is in the Attorney General's office.

01:49I welcome Zalendo, I welcome all the other civil society groups to participate in bringing

01:55this legislation to the fore.

01:57And I'm very happy with this framework, because the civil society that is present here would

02:05have chosen to come here with fuvuzela and placards.

02:10But they have chosen...

02:11Sometimes they might still have to do that.

02:14But they've come here to say, okay, what are the challenges that we have?

02:18How do we meaningfully contribute, institutionalise the solutions, rather than pander on the problems,

02:28you know, or the challenges?

02:29How do we institutionalise solutions?

02:32How do we bring legislation?

02:35How do we create institutions?

02:37How do we put a policy framework in place?

02:43And you have said yourself, it's easy to pontificate about the challenges we have.

02:50It is difficult to frame the solutions.

02:54I am very happy with Open Government Partnership.

02:57It gives us an opportunity with the judiciary, with the legislature, with the executive,

03:02with civil society, with the private sector, to figure out how we solve problems together.

03:09And this is why I believe in this framework.

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