Kutoka Network represented by its program officer in charge of youth and gender-Charles Ochieng’ participated in the accountability forum that was held in korogocho on 26th February 2019 and which brought together various stakeholders, key among the them; community Justice centers from Kibra,Mathare, korogocho and representatives of local community based organizations. The forum provided an opportunity for the participating organizations and individuals to go through the budget making process.
The process was facilitated by korogocho ward manager Mr Sabastian Karanja who invited the public to be more proactive on matters budget marking and proposing development projects that should be given priority in their areas, as this will lead to the ownership of prioritized projects. The ward manager invited participants to be conversant with Article 1 [2] of the Kenyan constitution which states that and I quote ‘All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya. The people may exercise their sovereignty directly or through their elected representatives’ he encouraged participants to ensure that all the projects initiated by either the national or county government has got their input and blessing as this is the true sense of our dear constitution.
Participants welcomed the ward manager’s invitation but challenged the county government through him to be providing members of the public with information on key budget items before convening public forums, as this will facilitate members to contribute from a position of knowledge. A participant pointed out that Article 35 of the Kenyan constitution guarantees the right to access information by citizens hence information concerning budget making process should be made available on demand by the citizenry as this will enhance public participation.
By: Charles Ochieng
Program officer – youth and gender