JAMILA'S MEMO: Public participation must count for something

In the past few months, the term public participation has been mentioned numerous times in various settings; be it before National Assembly Committees, or the county ones, or even in court when public participation has been cited as grounds to halt public processes.

In Kenya, public participation is a guaranteed process. The 2010 Constitution among other things reviewed the distribution of power to the people.

Various chapters and clauses in the Constitution require that public participation be undertaken at all levels of government before government officials make official decisions.

The purpose is to ensure at all times the conduct of public affairs places the mwananchi at the centre of public affairs. Public interest is paramount.

Public participation is the inclusion of the public in the activities of a country, organization or project. The principle of public participation holds that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.

I repeat, those affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process, and I will pack that for a bit.

This week, Parliament is back with a new session and a full-in tray. One of the issues on the table is the Affordable Housing Bill 2023, which proposes the introduction of a 1.5 per cent housing levy to facilitate the construction of affordable houses; a government project which is a must-pass and must-implement.

It has been clear since its inception that the affordable housing programme is dear to the Kenya Kwanza administration; so much so that President William Ruto is keen on implementing it regardless of the hurdles faced.

Yet, hundreds of thousands of workers are not convinced in the manner of implementation and they clearly stated their reservations during public participation on the then Finance Act 2023. Questions over the intended housing levy were numerous and the overall consensus was that we do not need this right now.

However, the government ignored the people's voices and went ahead to pass the bill into law. But the sigh of relief was temporary, as several cases were filled in court challenging its implementation into law.

One of the grounds was public participation and soon after a court order brought it all to a screeching halt, albeit temporarily. Finally, after a not-so-smooth ride government was able to overcome that hurdle too, however, this was also temporary.

In November 2023, the court declared the housing levy unconstitutional saying it targeted a section of the population.

I could continue recapping the matter but the essence of this memo today is this; the basic principle of public participation is everybody matters and their opinion matters.

Parliament on Thursday evening started debating the Affordable Housing Act. This was after the joint committees of finance and housing concluded collecting views from the public.

The government found itself at this point because of not getting things right the first time. Wednesday is the second reading of the bill and the committees will table a report of the public participation sittings on the matter.

If we ever learn from our mistakes, then the hope is those in authority will ensure that they fully take the people’s views into account otherwise just doing it for the sake, of ticking a box is just plain dishonest.

That is my Memo!