May-June-issue
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Governance<br />
By Kevin Sukwe<br />
CORPORATE<br />
GOVERNANCE<br />
IN KENYA<br />
Exploring models of enhancing public<br />
participation in county governments<br />
One of the main pillars of<br />
economic development<br />
of any entity whether<br />
private or public is effective<br />
corporate governance<br />
(CG). Though emphasis of corporate<br />
governance has for a long time been<br />
on the private sector, changes in public<br />
sector governance has called for increased<br />
demand in accountability. The Cadbury<br />
Report (1992) defined CG as the system<br />
by which companies / organisations are<br />
managed and controlled and is anchored<br />
on principles of openness, integrity and<br />
accountability. By integrating varied<br />
definitions, Matei and Drumasu (2015),<br />
sum corporate governance as “the way in<br />
which an organization (public or private)<br />
is led and controlled, with the purpose of<br />
getting performance / accomplishing its<br />
responsibilities successfully and bringing<br />
added value, as well as using financial,<br />
human, material and informational<br />
resources efficiently, while respecting<br />
the rights and obligations of all involved<br />
parties (shareholders / investors,<br />
Administration Board, managers,<br />
employees, state, suppliers, clients and<br />
other people with a direct interest.”<br />
The emphasis of openness, integrity<br />
and accountability gained prominence<br />
in Kenya with the enactment of the<br />
new Constitution of Kenya of 2010<br />
that established devolved units of<br />
governance. As is the case with many<br />
other democracies in the world, we were<br />
confronted with one inevitable primary<br />
question: How do we distribute financial<br />
resources and then how do we encourage<br />
constructive public participation in<br />
distribution of such resources the county<br />
level? Governments require public input<br />
especially in employment of resources in<br />
deserving areas, equitable distribution of<br />
services and proper accounting for taxes<br />
and fees collected.<br />
Public participation has been defined<br />
by International Association of Public<br />
Participation (IAP2) as any process that<br />
involves the public in problem solving or<br />
decision making and uses public input<br />
to make decisions. In public affairs, it is<br />
an open, accountable process through<br />
which individuals and groups within a<br />
community exchange views and influence<br />
decision making. Ministry of Devolution<br />
and Planning (MODP) guidelines<br />
(2016), define public participation as the<br />
process where individuals, governmental<br />
and non-governmental groups influence<br />
decision making in policy, legislation<br />
and service delivery, oversight and<br />
development matters. In addition<br />
to communicating information in a<br />
transparent and timely manner, the duty<br />
bearer (county governments) engages<br />
the public in decision making. Public<br />
participation is therefore a process that<br />
requires the input of the stakeholders.<br />
Public participation in public sector<br />
is anchored on legal framework that<br />
includes the Constitution of Kenya,<br />
34 MAY - JUNE 2018