Right to Public Participation in Devolved Governance in Kenya; a Myth or a Reality
Abstract
This study examines the right to public participation at the county governance. It provides an in-depth examination of the legal framework on the right to public participation in devolved governance in Kenya. Based on the constitutional requirement to engage the public in matters of governance and in making decisions that affect the citizens, laws geared towards engaging public at the county governance have been developed at the national level as a prerequisite in county governance. However there is no specific law at the national level on public participation apart from county public participation guidelines. Only three counties legislated on public participation laws within the constitutional timeframe of five years. This study further examines the structures and processes available in regulating public participation. The study finds that there are minimal meaningful structures and processes of public participation developed by county governments. It therefore recommends that all counties should immediately and effectively create meaningful legal framework to facilitate public participation in matters of governance in the counties. It also recommends that counties that have legislated on public participation to amend their laws borrowing on best practice and consider recommendations made by county public participation guidelines.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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