A Quick Guide to Public Participation and Parliamentary Oversight Under the New Constitution

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:24:38 +0000

This simple and easy to understand brief is targeted at the general Kenyan population. It highlights the problematic situations that underscore the need to have the public participate in affairs of Parliament and Parliamentary Committees. It sets out the factors that hamper public participation in the work of Parliament and Parliamentary committees and clearly sets out ways in which the public can participate in the work of Parliament and the different kinds of parliamentary committees.

Click here to download the report

Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya and Corruption

admin — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 09:24:38 +0000

Corruption in the private sector is widespread and costs the economy greatly while undermining efforts to reduce the poverty rates in the country. In order for small and medium enterprises to grow, they need to put their incomes into business related transactions and not those that aren’t such as corruption.

This report highlights persistent corruption pertaining to small and medium enterprises in their efforts to comply with laws and regulations that concern them. It addresses the forms of corruption which take place and how rampant they are, the reasons for which small and medium enterprises take part in these forms of corruption, and the negative impacts of corruption on small and medium enterprises and their growth. Furthermore, it discusses measures to help small and medium enterprises not take part in the said forms of corruption and puts forth recommendations towards reducing the said forms of corruption

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Devolution - Educating the Public: Addressing the gaps

admin — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:57:59 +0000

AfriCOG’s work in the area of devolution is aimed at strengthening good governance in Kenya with objective, high-quality research and advocacy; and generating useable information for building Kenyans’ capacity to be vigilant and monitor progress on governance and governance reform processes in Kenya.

In 2012 AfriCOG commissioned Infotrak Research and Consulting to carry out research on devolution in Kenya.1 The research took the form of a survey completed over one week in May 2012. The survey sample consisted of 2400 people (respondents) from all eight Kenyan provinces (regions). The number is representative of Kenya’s adult population of nearly 20 million, and was calculated to give a minimum margin of error.

There were more people surveyed in the Rift Valley region than in any other and only a small percentage in North Eastern, thus representing the population sizes of each region. The survey sample was approximately half male and half female and the age range was from 18 to 50+ with the largest group consisting of 21-25 year olds. All respondents had received some education, with the majority educated to secondary level. Two thirds of those surveyed live in rural areas. Interviews were carried out face to face.

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The KENYA Governance Report 2011

admin — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:57:30 +0000

The KENYA Governance Report 2011 is the first report in a new series by AfriCOG. The report discusses governance, leadership, integrity and accountability in several sectors in Kenya, including the Judiciary and security sector. It focuses on the developments that have taken root, in terms of reforms following the promulgation of the constitution and also highlights some of the more significant setbacks in the fight against corruption and impunity that were observed during the year. It concludes by proposing recommendations that can be implemented in the year ahead to safeguard further positive development

Download the full report here

Public Participation and Parliamentary Oversight - Legal Reforms and Policy Options

admin — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:26:25 +0000

"Parliamentary oversight committees need to be strengthened in order to become an effective watchdog ensuring good governance for the improved welfare of Kenyans. The impact of the new constitutional provisions on parliamentary oversight committees is inadequately understood and existing systemic problems have a negative effect on how these committees can effectively discharge their oversight mandates. One of these systemic problems is the lack of public participation in the work of the said committees. "Public Participation and Parliamentary Oversight, Legal Reforms and Policy Options" is a policy brief that addresses the factors that negatively affect the capacities of committees to engage the public in their work as well as possible approaches to including participation therein. Accordingly, it proposes feasible reforms: legal, technical and institutional, that can be applied to ensure that effective public participation is entrenched in the work of parliamentary oversight committees."

Download full brief here

Poisoned Legacy - Assessing Amos Wako's Perfomance

admin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:46:30 +0000

Amos Sitswila Wako served as the Attorney General of Kenya (AG) from May 1991 to August 2011. At first he was seen as offering a welcome change from his bumbling predecessor, Matthew Muli, who had led the Kenyan government in the enactment of an amendment that removed the security of tenure of all constitutional offices, including his own.

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The optimism was based on his brilliant credentials. Before becoming AG, Wako had held several influential posts, including that of Secretary General of the African Bar Association (1978-1980) and the first Secretary General of the Inter-African Union of Lawyers. He also served as the Chair of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and of the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), of whose global Board he was an active member. He was therefore viewed as having a solid human rights background, which was much needed to counter the country’s disastrous international image. However, there were misgivings in some quarters, and a closer look at his record shows that Wako’s human rights work focused largely on the prestigious international stage, while he kept “an extremely low profile in matters affecting the fundamental rights of Kenyans."

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Smouldering Evidence - The Charterhouse Bank Scandal

admin — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:55:39 +0000

Smouldering Evidence, AfriCOG’s latest report, examines the Charterhouse Bank Scandal which has received much attention in the media recently and dates back several years.

Download Full Report Here

Deliberate Loopholes

admin — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:22:13 +0000

In this report, AfriCOG documents the privatisation/divestiture of Telkom and Safaricom. “Deliberate Loopholes” describes some of the lapses that occurred in the privatisation of Telkom Kenya and Safaricom

Download the Full Report Here

ALL THAT GLITTERS? An Appraisal of the Goldenberg Report

admin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:05:09 +0000

“All that Glitters? An Appraisal of the Goldenberg Report” is part of AfriCOG’s contribution to the struggle against impunity and for accountability in Kenya.

In the current climate, as sections of government gear up a campaign to escape accountability for post-election violence, it is instructive that no one has ever been penalised for the mind-boggling series of massive fraud and theft of public funds described in the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Goldenberg Scandal.

This report forms part of AfriCOG’s series reviewing the implementation status of the recommendations of various commissions of inquiry in Kenya. The series began with a general overview in “Postponing the Truth: How Commissions of Inquiry are used to circumvent justice in Kenya” and continued with a review of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into the Illegal/Irregular Allocation of Public Land (the Ndung’u Commission), in our publication entitled
“Mission Impossible?”

It is hoped that this report will contribute to ensuring continued informed debate on grand corruption in Kenya in general and on the so-called Goldenberg Affair, for which no-one has ever been held accountable. Through this report AfriCOG also hopes to help keep alive public vigilance and the demand for those behind this and other economic crimes to be brought to book.

One of the most noteworthy moments of the Goldenberg Commission’s proceedings was the testimony given by a brave Kenyan whistleblower, David Sadera Munyakei. Ironically, unlike the powerful officials who hid behind pleas of defencelessness against the overweening power of the corrupt Moi dictatorship, he was a humble clerk at the Central Bank at the time. He noticed irregularities in the processing of export compensation monies to a little-known company; Goldenberg International. After receiving warnings to keep quiet about the matter, he smuggled the incriminating documents to opposition MPs who tabled them in Parliament. David lost his job and was jailed for some time.

It was not until 2003 that the Kibaki government, in the first flush of its short-lived “zero tolerance of corruption” policy, made an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to address the scandal by establishing a commission of inquiry.

Unlike many of the criminals who perpetrated one of Kenya’s biggest crimes and continue to profit from their stolen wealth and enjoy public prominence to this day, David died in poverty on July 16, 2006 of tuberculosis.

This report is dedicated to keeping alive the memory of David Munyakei.

Gladwell Otieno
Executive Director
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AfriCOG Investigative Journalism Fellowship Report on Media Corruption

admin — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 13:02:40 +0000

This investigation was carried out under a competitive fellowship awarded to Otsieno Namwaya by Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG), a civil society organization dedicated to addressing the structural and institutional causes of corruption and bad governance in Kenya.

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The AfriCOG fellowship is intended to enhance expertise in investigative journalism, generate a body of incisive investigative reports on key governance, anti-corruption and public interest issues and promote permanent civic vigilance. AfroCOG believes that partnership with the media is critical in promoting permanent civic vigilance because the media plays a key watchdog and agenda-setting role which is necessary for good governance. Yet the media faces capacity constraints, including limited skills development to undertake investigative journalism.