Kenya Action Plan Review 2023-2027

Kenyan reformers designed a fifth action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... that promises to strengthen government transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More, particularly around priority areas of climate action, data, procurement, public debtOpenly disclosing information about government debt enables informed decision-making, mitigates the risk of financial instability, and allows citizens to hold their governments accountable for respons..., and parliamentary activities. Commitments build on longstanding aims of Kenya’s OGP community and includes concrete reforms that can contribute to restoring trust between Kenyans and the state.

Kenya’s first four-year action plan largely continues efforts initiated under previous action plans to strengthen government transparency. It includes uncompleted and new activities to advance longstanding aims, such as increasing access to information. The action plan aligns with government policies such as the Digital Master Plan and Climate Change Policy. A commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... on digital governanceAs evolving technologies present new opportunities for governments and citizens to advance openness and accountability, OGP participating governments are working to create policies that deal with the ... introduces a new policy area and community of reformers into Kenya’s OGP process.

Six months into implementation, the youth-led #RejectFinanceBill2024 movement highlighted economic and governance frustrations.[1] In a letter to the Government of Kenya, the OGP Kenya civil society multistakeholder forum outlined reforms to restore trust between Kenyans and the government. These recommendations—which include strengthening fiscal transparency and public participation, protecting media and online freedom, strengthen access to information, justice and protect civil space—align with promising commitments in this report.[2]

Commitments 2 and 6 are highlighted for their potential to strengthen public participationGiving citizens opportunities to provide input into government decision-making leads to more effective governance, improved public service delivery, and more equitable outcomes. Technical specificatio... and civic space. Commitment 2 seeks to strengthen digital governance, including online public participation channels and responsible and safe use of artificial intelligence. Commitment 6 aims to operationalise the Public Benefits Organisation Act and strengthen mechanisms for public engagement with parliament. While not an explicit aim, passage and implementation of the Public Participation Bill would significantly improve citizens’ ability to have a say in the laws that govern them.

Promising commitments also aim to increase access to information. Commitment 7 aims to fully implement the Access to Information Act through a national policy and county laws. Commitment 1 advances transparency around climate action, Commitment 3 on data for development, and Commitment 5 on public procurementTransparency in the procurement process can help combat corruption and waste that plagues a significant portion of public procurement budgets globally. Technical specifications: Commitments that aim t.... The action plan also includes activities to increase transparency around the priority areas of electionsImproving transparency in elections and maintaining the independence of electoral commissions is vital for promoting trust in the electoral system, preventing electoral fraud, and upholding the democr... and public debt.

Kenya has a vibrant OGP community with both government and civil society champions. Co-creation included a series of workshops, including at the cluster level to refine commitments, and opportunities to comment on the draft action plan online. The action plan was formally launched by President William Ruto in September 2024.[3] However, documentation and transparency of Kenya’s OGP efforts remain insufficient. The lack of an OGP website with the latest action plan means that Kenya currently does not meet the minimum requirements of the Participation and Co-Creation Standards.^[4]

As a four-year plan, Kenya will be expected to conduct a refresh process at the midpoint.[5] This is an opportunity for implementers to consider progress thus far and adapt or expand the action plan as appropriate. The IRM will reassess any new of significantly amended commitments in the refreshed action plan. For instance, if Commitment 4 confirms the government’s intention to make beneficial ownershipDisclosing beneficial owners — those who ultimately control or profit from a business — is essential for combating corruption, stemming illicit financial flows, and fighting tax evasion. Technical... information public, the IRM will reassess its analysis.

Promising Commitments

The following review looks at the 6 commitments that the IRM identified as having the potential to realise the most promising results. Promising commitments address a policy area that is important to stakeholders or the national context. They must be verifiable, have a relevant open government lens, and have modest or substantial potential for results. This review also provides an analysis of challenges, opportunities, and recommendations to contribute to the learning and implementation process of this action plan.

Table 1. Promising commitments

[1] Meron Elias, “What is behind Kenya’s protest movement?” Crisis Group, 3 July 2024, https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/east-and-southern-africa/kenya/what-behind-kenyas-protest-movement.

[2] “Statement by the Kenya OGP Civil Society Organizations Multistakeholder Forum on the #RejectFinanceBill2024 Protests,” Mzalendo Trust, 27 June 2024, https://mzalendo.com/posts/statement-kenya-open-government-partnership-ogp-ci.

[3] William Ruto, “Launch of Kenya’s 5^th Open Government Partnership Action Plan, Nairobi,” X (formerly Twitter), 12 September 2024, https://x.com/williamsruto/status/1834105875612795071?t=8XqABEFamYP8Z5C_Eckd4A.

[4] Kenya’s OGP website remains offline as of 1 October 2024, see: https://opengovernment.ke; and while OGP Kenya has social media sites, they do not currently meet the minimum requirements, see: “OGP Kenya,” X (formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/ogpkenya; “OGP Kenya,” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/OgpKenya.

[5] “OGP National Handbook,” Open Government Partnership, April 2024, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/OGP-National-Handbook_2024.pdf.