Kenya Transitional Results Report 2018-2021

This report covers the implementation of Kenya’s third action plan for 2018-2021. In 2021, the IRM implemented a new approach to its research process and the scope of its reporting on action plans, approved by the IRM Refresh.^[1] The IRM adjusted its Implementation Reports for 2018-2020 action plans to fit the transition process to the new IRM products and enable the IRM to adjust its workflow in light of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on OGP country processes.

Action Plan Implementation

The IRM Transitional Results Report assesses the status of the action plan’s commitments and the results from their implementation at the end of the 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... cycle. This report does not re-visit the assessments for “VerifiabilityOGP commitments should be clear and specific enough to enable measurement of their progress. Verifiable commitments include specific activities that can be monitored. Following an action plan’s subm...,” “RelevanceAccording to the OGP Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should include a clear open government lens. Specifically, they should advance at least one of the OGP values: transparency, citizen partic...” or “Potential Impact.” The IRM assesses those three indicators in IRM Design Reports. For more details on each indicator, please see Annex I in this report.

General Highlights and Results

Kenya’s third national action plan contained six commitments addressing different priority policy areas for reforms. Although the different commitments recorded varying levels of implementation, the overall progress was limited. By the end of the cycle, the commitments on beneficial ownership and OGP resilience were substantially implemented, while the commitments on open contracting, public participation, and open data were limited. Commitment 5, on improving public service, was not started, although related activities were undertaken that laid ground for the fourth action plan. In comparison with the previous plans, Kenya recorded a slower rate in implementation and change in government practice[2] during the third national action plan.

Progress in implementing beneficial ownership could be attributed to the drive to honor pledges made in other forums, such as the London Anti-Corruption Summit and the presidential directive on implementation of beneficial ownership, coupled with strong support from civil society organizations (CSOs). However, as detailed in the sections that follow, other factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and capacity and resource challenges, hindered implementation. Further, two commitments (open contracting and public service delivery) involved a redesign of the activities, and therefore could not be completed within the plan period. Thus, although open contracting was identified as a noteworthy commitment in the IRM Design Report,[3] the general implementation level was limited since the redesign of the government procurement systems needed more time, beyond the action plan window.

Early results from implementation include the adoption of the beneficial ownership register, which has resulted in higher levels of compliance to statutory requirements by companies, and steps toward transparency gained through registry access by competent authorities, such as the procurement authorities. Equally, through the continuous engagement of local governments under Commitment 6, Kenya was able to have three local governments[4] join the OGP Local Program in the 2020 cohort.

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Implementation

Activities most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic were those involving direct engagement with members of the public. For instance, the 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... campaigns under 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... 4. Equally, physical meetings for the commitment actors were limited. Although this slowed down engagements for a while, the actors transitioned to virtual meetings and hybrid, in-person and virtual sessions. The Government of Kenya took advantage of the opportunity to extend the implementation period by one year, in light of the pandemic.

[1] For more information, see: IRM Refresh, OGP, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/process/accountability/about-the-irm/irm-refresh/

[2] The second national plan had eight commitments, with one fully implemented and three substantially implemented. Five of the nine commitments in the first action plan were not started. The results reports for these action plans can be found here: IRM Staff with contributions from Tracy-Lynn Humby and Caroline Othim, Independent Reporting Mechanism, (IRM): Kenya End-of-Term Report 2016–2018, OGP, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Kenya_End-of-Term_Report_2016-2018.pdf and Geoffrey Runji Njeru, Independent Reporting Mechanism: Kenya Progress Report 2012–13, OGP, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Kenya_final_2012_0.pdf.

[3]Kenya Design Report 2018–2020, OGP, 1 April 2021, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/kenya-design-report-2018-2020/.

[4] Nairobi, Makueni, and Nandi Counties joined the OGP Local Program in the 2020 cohort. This is in addition to Elgeyo Marakwet, which joined in 2016. For more information, please see OGP Local, OGP, 2023, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/ogp-local/.