Leadership and political will for implementation of the access to information (ATI) Act (2016) in Kenya
| Date | 11 March 2019 |
| Pages | 117-133 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-09-2018-0034 |
| Published date | 11 March 2019 |
| Author | Victor Kabata,Francis Garaba |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance |
Leadership and political will
for implementation of the access
to information (ATI) Act (2016)
in Kenya
Victor Kabata and Francis Garaba
University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of leadership and political will
towardssuccessful implementation of an access to information(ATI) legislation.
Design/methodology/approach –The paper adopteda mixed methods approach with a bias towards a
quantitative survey, complemented by a qualitative follow-up and triangulation during data collection. A
complement of theoretical modelsunderpinned the paper, thus enhancing understanding of the multifaceted
phenomenonof ATI.
Findings –The paper revealed that the state has demonstrated leadership and political will for ATI by
developing government-wide records management manual for public entities; developing an ATI
implementation action plan and availing resources for ATI. However, there is need to review laws that
perpetuate secrecy; formulate regulations to operationalize the Act and allocate adequate finances for ATI
activities.
Research limitations/implications –The paper focused on assessing the extent of leadership and
politicalwill on the executive arm of the government excluding the Judiciary and the legislature.
Practical implications –The paper proposesan ATI implementation roadmap, which can be adopted by
other countrieswith comparable contexts.
Social implications –The proposed action plan if adopted will result in an informed citizenry that
understandsand leverages ATI to claim their socio-economicrights.
Originality/value –The paper provides empirical evidence on some aspects of leadership such as the
ministries with ATI policy; level of engagement of policy-makers in ATI matters and the availability of
resources for ATI. Further, the paper adopted a multidisciplinary approach by including the concept of
‘meaningfulengagement’whose theoretical foundationis in law to the concept of access to information.
Keywords Regulation, Records management, Legislation, Freedom of information
Paper type Research paper
Background and context
World over, access to information is regarded as a fundamental right that is recognized in
international conventions, national constitutions and national laws. Further, access to
information laws areanchored on the democratic notion that public bodieshold information,
not for their own interests but for public good (Stiglitz, 2002). Consequently, public bodies
are expected to provide information to citizens. This information enables the public to
meaning-fully participate in public policy formulation and decision-making. ATI laws
therefore reinforce the democratic premise that government is meant to serve the people
(Odote, 2015).
In the developed world, access to information can be traced back to 1766 when Sweden
became the first nation to recognize the right to information by enacting a law allowing the
Access to
information
(ATI) Act
(2016)
117
Received24 September 2018
Revised23 November 2018
Accepted12 December 2018
RecordsManagement Journal
Vol.29 No. 1/2, 2019
pp. 117-133
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/RMJ-09-2018-0034
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
press to obtain and publish information held by the state. Other nations followed suit such
as Finland in 1951 and the USA in 1966. The period between the fall of the Soviet Unionin
1991 and the attack on the World Trade Centreand Pentagon in 2001 was christened as the
golden period of openness. Indeed, in that decade alone, 26 countries legislated guarantees
for the right of access to government information (Darch and Underwood, 2010). By 2017,
115 out of 195 countries in the worldhad enshrined the right to free access to information in
law and 59 per cent of countries had legal frameworksestablishing the right and procedures
for public to request and receive governmentheld information.
In Africa, According to the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC) Report 2017,
only 21 out the 54 countries have constitutional, legal and policy guarantees for public
access to information. Kenya has recently enacted the Access to Information Act 2016.
While passage of the ATI law is a useful step towards enhancing transparency and
accountability in the conduct of public affairs, enforcement and implementationof the ATI
laws around the world has been challenging particularly in countries with a weak rule of
law and poorly capacitated institutions (Neumanand Calland, 2007). One of the factors that
influences implementation of ATI laws is aspectof leadership and political will. This study
sought to establish the extent of leadership and political will for the implementation of the
ATI regime in Kenya.
Theoretical framework
This paper is concerned with assessing the extent of leadership and political will for
implementation of the ATI Act 2016 in public bodies in Kenya. This assessment is
underpinned by a complement of models and concept. This theoretical triangulation
enhances the understanding of the phenomenon of access to information and increases the
validity of the findings. Specifically, the main model underpinning this study is the UK,
Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA), Model Action Plan (MAP) (UK, DCA, MAP,
2003) for the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The model outlines
five areas that are key to implementation of an ATI legislation. These are leadership and
policy; training and awareness; information and records management; customers and
stakeholders and systems and procedures. This paper will limit itself to the aspect of
leadership and policy.
Although the UK, DCA, MAP 2003 provides a framework of the actions that public
entities need to undertaketo demonstrate leadership and political will for implementation of
the ATI legislation, it does not provide a mechanism for assessing the extent of leadership
and political will for ATI implementation. To address this concern, this study brought on
board the Carter Centre’s, access to information, Implementation Assessment Tool (IAT).
The IAT framework consists of functions and elementsthat assesses the capacity of public
entities to perform the three main access to information functions, namely receiving and
responding to requests,proactive disclosure of information and records management(Carter
Centre, 2014a). These elements are: leadership, rules, systems, resources and monitoring
(Carter Centre, 2014b). This paper will limit itself two aspects, that is, leadership and
resources.
Although the two aforementioned models adequately address the aspect of leadership
and policy which is the subject of this paper, theydo not factor in the aspect of political will.
To address this concern, this study incorporatedthe concept of ‘meaningful engagement.’
According to Chenwi and Tissington (2010),‘meaningful engagement’takes place when
communities and government talk and listen to each other, and try to understand each
other’s perspectives towardsachieving a particular goal. It is a ‘neutral’space where people
and the state can discuss and shape optionsand solutions to contentious issues.
RMJ
29,1/2
118
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