Public Participation Under Kenyas New Public Financial Management Law and Beyond

Public Participation Under Kenyas New Public Financial Management Law And Beyond

Publisher	The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA) National Taxpayers Association (NTA) Hakijamii Africog Kenya Land Alliance Clarion MUHURI
Year of Publication	2012
Category	Policy Brief
County	All/General
Description	This Brief reflects the concerns of a broad range of civil society organizations about the implementation of Kenyas new Public Financial Management Act, signed into law by the President in July 2012. The goal of this Brief is to inform the drafting of the regulations needed to implement the law, specifically those related to public participation in financial matters. The Brief looks first at the County Budget and Economic Forum (CBEF), a new body created by the PFM Act. In our view, the principal role of the CBEF should be to convene public consultations, rather than to represent the public. This body should not become simply an extension of the Governors power, but should be used to facilitate genuine citizen participation. We have proposed a number of regulations to ensure this, including: vetting of members, term limits, and open and transparent meetings. In addition, we would like to see the CBEF mandated to release budget information, and to hold meetings at different points during the budget cycle to both explain plans and budgets and get feedback on budget implementation from the public. The second section of the Brief synthesizes the broader principles of public participation implicit in the discussion of the CBEF. We propose 10 principles of public participation that should apply to matters of public finance, and but also to participation in decision making more broadly.
Tags	Public Finance
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