“Citizens should be in the forefront demanding for better services to foster the development that they yearn for.” — Lucas Cosmas Fondo, Coordinator of Programmes, LENGGO
46%
of Kenya counties' budgets are spent on wages and salaries
21%
of Kenya counties' budgets are spent on development
August 2015 End date
October 2016
Issue
The implementation of devolution in Kenya is one of the most ambitious decentralisation processes in the world.
However, since the Constitution ratifying devolution was passed in 2010, many areas of the country have witnessed a corresponding devolution in corruption and poor budgeting – for example, in the last quarter of 2013/2014, Mombasa county government did not implement a single development project budgeted in the government expenditure, because all funds meant for development were diverted to payment of salaries and other recurring expenditures.
While the aim of devolution was to bring government closer to ordinary people, there is still a conspicuous absence of a meaningful civic education, and ordinary people are still not able to systematically participate in decisions on how public money is spent.
Project
The Locals Empowerment for Good Governance Organization is implementing a County Budget Tracking Project to support better, more accountable budgeting in three counties - Kwale, Mombasa and Kilifi.
Working in conjunction with the county governments and civil society groups, the team are supporting public education on the right to participate in budgeting processes, and expanding a government-run citizen complaint system.
LENGGO aims to make sure that people not only know their rights, but are able to connect directly to government departments that are being pro-active in answering questions and resolving issues.
Partner
The Local Empowerment for Good Governance (LENGGO), is a membership NGO that was started in the year 2011 and that operates in Kilifi, Mombasa, Kwale, Lamu, and Taita Taveta Counties. LENGO 's mission is to enhance people’s participation in good governance and resource utilization through systematic capacity building, generation of knowledge, advocacy and public education.