Majority Whip Boni Khalwale has assured the international community that Parliament will support the implementation of the National Action Plan on the Open Government Partnership (OGP) as a way of promoting accountability in Governance.

Senator Khalwale said the Kenya government will increase budgetary allocation to facilitate the implementation of the open government agenda so as to finance implementation of the national action plan.

Citing the 2010 constitution, the Senator said Kenya has made major strides in governance as it gives citizens the power to fully participate in governance at the two levels of government while at the same time ensuring accountability.

“The 2010 constitution has a provision on open governance. It gives the people the right to participate in governance at the two levels of government,” said Senator Khalwale.

Article 118 obligates Parliament to involve the public in its business through facilitating public participation and involvement in the legislative and other business of Parliament and its committees.

The Majority Whip was speaking at the 8th Open Governance Partnership Global Summit in Tallin, Estonia, on Tuesday, September 5.

OGP is a global platform that brings together both government and non-governmental actors, including Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). 

The platform is aimed to facilitate multi-stakeholder engagement toward open, accountable, transparent and responsive governance. 

It is a unique global initiative for its’ emphasis on states meaningful collaboration with civil society to embrace the values of transparency, accountability, civic participation and innovation towards good governance.

The main thematic areas of the 2023 Summit are anti-corruption, civic space and participation, climate and environment, digital governance, open justice, and democratic resilience. 

These themes are impacted by challenges the world has faced in the last years to protect democratic and rules-based world order that respects human dignity and the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual. 

Dr Khalwale was part of the Open Plenary Panel of discussion that focused on accountability in Parliaments. 

The debate centered on good parliamentary practices that parliaments and MPs can put in place to foster internal accountability, including but not limited to code of ethics, information disclosure, and declarations of interests.

The aim of the Panel Discussion was to frame the changes in how states can govern openly, caused by the crisis and conflicts of recent years.

Giving the examples of live coverage of Parliamentary proceedings, the Senate Mashinani and Parliamentary, and the establishment of the Media Centre within the Precincts of Parliament, Dr Khalwale said Kenya parliament has opened up for scrutiny and put in place the necessary accountability mechanisms.

 “Through the initiatives such as Senate Mashinani, Parliament offers the citizens an opportunity to interact with their representatives,” he added.

The Majority Whip said the Legislature has embraced the open parliamentary reforms through it has cemented open government across the political landscape.

“Kenya is the most stable democracy in Africa,” he said, admitting that although the country has had its fair share of political challenges, the situation has never resulted in either military takeover or paved the way for a life presidency.

“We have always transitioned from one government to another.” 

The National Action Plan on OGP is reviewed after every two years. The current one was drafted in 2021 and expired in December 2022 and its anchored on accountable and transparent governance.

The new action plan, covering the period between 2023 and 2024, will be in place by December 2023 and will be anchored on the same pillars and include a new pillar on environment and climate change.

OGP was officially launched in September 2011 by 8 founding governments and 9 civil society organizations.

 The founding governments are Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, United Kingdom, and United States. It has since grown to a current membership of 78 countries and 76 local jurisdictions.