2023 Civil Society Steering Committee Candidate Video
Steph Muchai
View Steph Muchai’s application materials for the OGP Civil Society Steering Committee here.
For this video, candidates were asked to respond to the following questions:
- Why do you want to be on the Steering CommitteeThe Steering Committee is OGP’s executive decision-making body. Its role is to develop, promote and safeguard OGP’s values, principles and interests; establish OGP’s core ideas, policies, and ru..., and what would your priorities be?
- How will your participation in the Steering Committee be useful in strengthening open government in your region? OR
- What can the 2023-2028 OGP strategy do to advance the open government agenda and drive impact? How would you plan to advance the strategy as a Steering Committee member?
Once you’ve watched the video, leave a question or comment below! Candidates will respond directly. For more information about the CS SC selection process, see this page. Comments will close May 19.
Comments (5)
Sarah Wesonga Reply
I wholeheartedly endorse Steph’s candidacy for the steering committee. Their exceptional support for OGP local initiatives, specifically in fostering connections between OGP local governments and the broader OGP community, has played a vital role in sustaining the implementation of open government reforms, especially during the administrative changes in Kenya. I am equally optimistic about her continued advocacy for adequate resourcing and investment in open government reformers within the country. Furthermore, their commitment to adopting a flexible framework that accommodates diverse contexts and needs is truly commendable.
Steph Reply
Thank you Sarah for your very valuable and heartfelt endorsement for my sought second term candidacy! I will continue to take every opportunity support the work of both government and civil society reformers to be impactful, relevant and sustainable while growing the diversity of engagement within the diverse contexts of implementation. I hope that you can be proud at the end of my second tenure! Thank you again.
Idah Knowles Reply
Hello Steph,
Congratulations for making it to this stage already..
I wish to thank you for supporting KENYA OGP community throughout the Co-creation to implementations, not forgetting ensuring successful convenings of the MSFs, Open Gov Weeks, technical committees leadership meetings and IRM engagements etc.
At Mzalendo Trust, you were with us throughout every step of implementation of NAP IV. As a project person in this, I wouldn’t have done it without you, I appreciate you and wish the very best in this second round.
Cheers!
Karen Reply
All the best Steph. How would you say OGP has trickled down to real people especially those who are marginalized and outside government? Can it be argued that opening up government doesn’t not necessarily lead to fair distribution of opportunities or accountability for that matter? What do you plan to do about that?
Steph Reply
Thank you Karen for your well wishes and for taking the time to comment/ask questions. Very much appreciated. Yes, open government approaches have felt at local levels and there are great examples such as transparency leading to the building of health clinics in Kaduna State Nigeria; access to free legal knowledge in Columbia as you know the cost of professional fees is very high and many times marginalised groups are unable to access justice because of lack of legal knowledge; Alternative Justice Systems for under-served communities in Kenya is ongoing work under OGP; In Spain there is great work ongoing on “Easy Government” where people with disabilities and socially vulnerable people are working hand in hand with public officials to include these groups in decisions that affect there lives. You can read more about the impact OGP is having on people here – https://www.ogpstories.org/. Opening up government has contributed to fairer distribution of opportunities in particular in procurement markets of member countries who adopt the open contracting approach or just increase transparency in procurement – this has also helped Women, Youth and Persons with Disability who in some countries have special access to procurement contracts as an affirmative action measure. Accountability is in part a transparency issue, but is also an enforcement issue so open government measures are one tool in the toolbox for accountability. It is admittedly whole of problem solution but rather a key contributor to the accountability eco-system. I will continue in my second term, if successful to support both govts and civil society to frame solutions and approaches that move the needle on this issues and where possible, to make transformative ambitious commitments on the same. This whilst ensuring that such commitments are implementable and continue to advocate for proper resourcing and political goodwill for these measures.