Enhancing Transparency, Integrity and Participation in the Water sector through capacity building of community water management groups in Makueni County (KEMKC0003)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Not Attached
Inception Report: Not available
Commitment Start: Sep 2021
Commitment End: May 2022
Institutions involved:
- Department of Water and Sanitation
- Centre for Social Planning and Administrative Development (CESPAD)
- Mobilization Agency for Paralegal Communities in Africa –Trust (MAPACA)
Primary Policy Area:
Primary Sector:
OGP Value:
- Public Accountability
Description
Commitment ID
KEMKC0003
Commitment Title
Enhancing Transparency, Integrity and Participation in the Water sector through capacity building of community water management groups in Makueni County
Problem
Makueni County has clearly defined public participation structures starting at the village level where citizens identify major water projects to be undertaken per village. These are then incorporated in the County integrated management plans. However, the identified projects selected by the citizens are not always viable or sustainable. This is due to the fact that the citizens’ demands are not always matched up with technical expertise in project development and management. The technical expertise and capacity of the officers responsible for incorporating public view is important since water services involve technology. In most instances the technologies selected for projects are normally inappropriate or sub optimal for the wider county’s infrastructure and economies of scale despite being requested for by the communities. Additionally, the Counties have weak capacities to carry out economic analysis of investment projects to identify the costs and benefits of every investment proposal. This undermines the strategic resource allocation and efficient use of public resources.
There is therefore a need to align the projects identified by the citizens with technical know-how and have a paradigm shift in how the Makueni county involve the citizens in the decision making processes for sustainability and effectiveness of the water projects.
Status quo
Public access to information is limited, especially the access to budget documents within set timelines. These include publishing of budget statements (including citizen’s budget), budget execution reports, audit reports and macroeconomic assumptions. The public forums are usually done on short notice and the public is not well prepared for the participation process which in turn affects the outcome. In addition, clear information flow and feedback mechanisms are often missing. The identification of community water management committees that are directly involved in the management of water resources is key step in addressing the water challenges. In addition the county has enacted water act that will also address policy issues
Action
This commitment entails capacity building of water management community committees to improve the level of accountability and transparency in the management of water resources. The overall objective is to enhance transparency, integrity and participation in the Water sector in Makueni County.
How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?
This commitment intends to ensure that Water sector organizations in Makueni county have improved integrity practices in their plans, projects and programs; and that Citizens in Makueni monitor performance of County Governments and service providers and meaningfully participate in water related decision making process.
What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?
The project looks at three (3) engagement areas including:
- Advocacy for policy and practice change,
- Evidence and learning,
- Organizational change processes with the aim of strengthening transparency and integrity in the public water sector financing and water service delivery in Makueni county.
Primary Policy Area
Regulatory Governance, Social Accountability
Primary Sector
Environment & Climate, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?
| Public Accountability | Strengthening of water management community groups creates project social accountability and thus translates into transparent management of resources |