A proposal by the government to change how Kenyans take part in making laws is stirring fresh debate, after officials suggested that Parliament should become the only institution allowed to run public consultations on bills and major policies in order to reduce what is described as a costly and repeated process.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi told senators that the current system, where ministries, state agencies and Parliament all carry out separate public engagement exercises, is wasting public funds and creating unnecessary repetition across government processes.
Mudavadi said the government is pushing for a new structure where ministries would only engage stakeholders during policy development, while Parliament would hold the final and official public participation stage on all proposed laws.
“We actually need Parliament to help us conclude the law around public participation,” Mudavadi told senators.
“Through the government legislative agenda alone, if we were to pursue all the stages required, it could cost Kenyan taxpayers up to Sh20 billion in the process of public participation, based on estimates from various departments,” he said.
He further stated, “Others should do consultations or stakeholder consultations, but Parliament should be vested with the ultimate public participation mandate so that we don’t have these multiple centres all purporting to say they are doing public participation,” he said.
According to him, the overlapping engagements have led to the same groups of people being repeatedly consulted by different government offices, first during policy drafting and again when bills reach Parliament.
The proposal is now part of a broader government drive to reduce spending at a time when there is growing pressure to cut the cost of running the state.
It has also revived attention on the long-standing absence of a clear law governing public participation, despite it being firmly rooted in the Constitution.
Articles 10, 118, 174 and 196 of the Constitution recognise public participation as a national value and require both Parliament and county assemblies to ensure citizens are involved in decision making.
However, Kenya still does not have a single law setting out how public participation should be conducted, leaving institutions to rely on constitutional provisions, court decisions and different scattered laws.
Repeated attempts to pass a Public Participation Bill have not succeeded over the years, even as courts have continued to stress the need for a clear and uniform framework.
The gap has led to different government bodies using different methods and standards, a situation that has often triggered legal disputes and court rulings overturning laws and policies due to claims that public input was not properly obtained.