Parliament, Participation and Policy Making
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Date
2020-06
Authors
Pabari, Mine
Odhowa, Ahmed Hassan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
CLEAR-AA
Abstract
In 2010, with the enactment of the new Constitution,
Kenya adopted a presidential system of government which
strengthened the role of the legislature in the legislative
process and reduced the influence of the executive.
Legislative authority comprises of the national parliament
(the National Assembly and the Senate) and County
Assemblies for the county level of government.
Public participation is a core pillar and principle of
governance under the Kenya Constitution. Public
participation is defined by the National Assembly as, “the
process of interaction between an organisation and the
public with the aim of making an acceptable and better
decision”(The Clerk of the National Assembly, 2017). Public
participation in the governance process is guided by various
provisions of the Constitution and numerous statutes
including the Public Finance and Management Act1, The
County governments Act2, The Access to Information Act3
and the Public Procurement and Assets Disposal Act4. The
Parliamentary standing orders set out the procedures for
lodging a petition by a member of the public.
Description
Lessons emerging from the revision of Kenya’s
Wildlife Conservation and Management Act
(2013) through the use of public participation.
The Act was reviewed with a parliamentary
body, the Departmental Committee on
Environment and Natural Resources (DCENR),
playing a direct role in facilitating the public
engagement. The Committee was supported by
the Parliamentary Research Services (PRS), that
played a critical role as a knowledge broker.
After multiple attempts over the course of 16
years, the Act was successfully reviewed and
with a strong sense of ownership across a
diverse and somewhat fragmented group of
stakeholders. However, the shortcomings and
challenges in the process are recognised and
give rise to a number of lessons for the country
in going forward. These include:
• The value and opportunities offered by
the direct engagement of Parliament in
facilitating public participation
• The significance of the role of the PRS as
a knowledge broker
• The importance of good leadership; and
• Ensuring that the necessary resources,
including time, budget and skills is
critical to successful public engagement