ARTICLE 19 welcomes Kenya’s submission of the second National Action Plan to the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
The submission comes against the backdrop of a warning issued to Kenya in January, of the intention to review its membership in the partnership after it failed to submit national action plans in 2014 and 2015. The National Action Plans are a core commitment in the OGP framework.
“We hope that the submission of the action plan is indicative of Kenya’s intention to use the framework to enhance openness in the functions of government and in the delivery of public services,” said Henry Maina, Regional Director, ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa.
The development of the national action plan was spearheaded by an inclusive National Steering Committee, of which ARTICLE 19 is a member. The National Steering Committee consists of government agencies, civil society organisations and the private sector.
The national action plan articulates commitments to enhance access to information and transparency within budgeting and public procurement processes, and to combat corruption. It also contains commitments relevant to transparency within the extractives sector and the management of climate change adaptation funds.
“If the commitments made in the national action plan are implemented, they will go a long way to enhance openness in governance, and combating some of the prevalent issues being faced by the country, such as corruption. We hope that the government will ensure a multi stakeholder approach to implement the action plan to widen the sense of ownership of the OGP mechanism,” added Maina.
Notes for editors:
- The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
- To become a member of OGP, participating countries must endorse a high-level Open Government Declaration, deliver a country action plan developed with public consultation, and commit to independent reporting on their progress going forward. The partnership has so far attracted a membership of 70 countries, mostly from Europe and Americas that have made over 2250 commitments to make their governments more open, transparent and responsive to citizens.
- Kenya joined the OGP in 2011. Kenya is one of six African countries to have joined the initiative. The others are South Africa, Tanzania, Liberia, Ghana, and Malawi.