Several civil society organisations have expressed concerns over the legal and regulatory regime that will define public participation in matters of finance under the new Public Finance Management Act assented to by the President in July. The organisations on Friday said there are sections of the new law related to public participation that will require further regulations. They offered views on minimum standards, principles and the scope that should be considered in the regulations to ensure ingenuity of the process.
“Public participation both at national and county level is a mechanism for accountability and transparency. The regulations should therefore open up as many channels as possible for the process and also bring clarity on what qualifies as public participation,” said Kwame Owino, CEO of the Institute of Economic Affairs, a public policy think-tank.
Though no announcement has been made seeking input into draft regulations for the PFM Act, the organisations said it’s not too early to consider the implications on public participation A technical team at the Treasury is already drafting the regulations which are expected to be availed for public comment by end of October.
“It is important that citizens clearly articulate their views on what constitutes genuine public participation, and how this should be organised, before the regulations are drawn up and the new order is firmly established,” a joint policy brief by the civil societies read. A new body, the County Budget and Economic Forum (CBEF), has been created by the PFM Act, which the organisations said should serve to convene public consultations and not representing the public.
“This body should not become simply an extension of the Governor’s power, but should be used to facilitate genuine citizen participation,” the policy brief read. The organisations propose the regulations should include vetting of CBEF members, a non-renewable one-term limit of maximum five years, and open and transparent meetings.
The CBEF should also be mandated to release budget information and to hold a meetings – which should be capped to about five in a year to avoid strain on county budgets – at different points of the budget cycle to both explain plans and budgets, and get public feedback on budget implementation. The civil societies – HakiJamii, IEA-Kenya, The Institute of Social Accountability (TISA), AfriCog, National Taxpayers Association, Kenya Land Alliance, CLARION, MUHURI, Twaweza, and the International Budget Partnership – also outlined broad principles that should guide public participation. 2