Bills may be illegal, says Charles Nyachae team

Most of the Bills passed by Parliament and the county assemblies may not have legal backing due to lack of public participation.

The Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) has expressed concern over failure by the national and county governments to establish platforms for the public to participate in issues of governance.

The elected leaders, the CIC says in its 2013/2014 annual report, have not been involving the public in crafting laws, as stipulated in the Constitution.

The Charles Nyachae-led commission is especially worried by the counties, which it says have not even defined what public participation is and developed legal frameworks to guide public contribution in governance.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

“In some counties, public participation remains a public relations exercise,” says the report.

It adds that these counties only invite the public to their meetings to rubber-stamp what officials have already agreed on.

“Consequently, ineffective/absence of public participation affects the contents and legality of Bills passed at the national and county levels as well as the overall governance of the country,” the report says.

During the period the CIC prepared their report, only slightly more than half of the counties reported having established structures for citizen participation, while only five of them had developed Community/Public Participation Bills. The Constitution requires all counties to pass the public participation law.

“It is a requirement for both National and County governments to undertake civic education. Sections 99 of the County Government,” says the report.

County governments, according to the report, are supposed to develop legislation that provides the requisite institutional framework for purposes of facilitating and implementing civic education.