DEMOCRACY & HUMAN RIGHTS

Our Good Governance activities interrogate how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources especially at the devolved county level.

Interrogating bursary allocation in Rhoda Ward, Nakuru West

Our interventions are mainly centered on public participation where we endeavor to ensure that citizens are able to follow, understand and participate effectively in the decision making processes as well as holding and being accountable for use of devolved resources.

MIDRIFT HURINET through the support of USAID/SFCG undertook to enhance citizen participation in governance and especially in the budgeting process. As an organization we established that whereas there are many devolved funds not many citizens are aware of them and if they were, they did not know how to go about accessing them. We also established that many of these funds were clouded in allegations of corruption in their disbursements as well as allocations increasingly being done along tribal lines and as a ‘reward’ to persons that supported or voted for particular candidates. We set out to advocate on this issue.

Objectives

Project Objectives are :-

  • Enhancing social accountability through improved citizen participation in the budgeting process
  • Improving collaboration between community/CSO’s and County Government during the budgeting process
  • To help build the capacity of citizens through enhanced information access to demand for accountability from all public institutions and officers including elected leaders.

Key Emerging Issues from the State-Citizens Dialogue Forums

  • Poor Information Access
  • Leaders laid back approach
  • Lack of rights based approach in devolved governance
  • Bursary funds and other devolved funds not coordinated

Outcome

  • The MCA wrote letters to schools to admit seven (7) students who were out of school for lack of school fees before the next phase of bursary funds is due. He has publicly committed to finance their education out his pocket to keep them in school if the bursary funds release from the county government delays.
  • The MCA has received over 50 cases of out of school students who are in need of bursary funds.
  • The MCA and Ward Administrator together with the community agreed that bursary funds forms be disbursed at the village level to allow for community vetting of applicants to ensure that only poor and needy students access the funds
  • The MCA and community leaders agreed that Ward Bursary Committee members be vetted by the public and those found not performing as per community expectations be replaced
  • The leaders and citizens agreed that bursary allocation be capped on the needs of students for the needs are varied. This was occasioned by public outcry that even some students currently out of school had been given bursaries below their fees needs
  • The project brought together the MCA; Ward Administrator; our Government champion and PA to the Nakuru County Senator; the PA to the Nakuru County Women Representative; the area Chief; PA to the Nakuru Town West MP; and Elders, Youth and Women leaders
  • A memorandum was prepared, approved and presented to leaders by the community under MIDRIFT HURINET
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