[kictanet] US and OpenData vs Kenyan Situation

[Rad!]

It is debatable whether the initiative lived at all.

As it stands the data on that portal is completely dependent on the
benevolence of bureaucrats and politicians, and as long as that is the case
it is difficult for it to succeed.

Ideally there should be legislation to compel all government bodies to open
up their data on request from the citizens. See Finland for a good example.
They credit openness of information as a key factor of low levels of
corruption.

For example I requested a dataset on
1) Who travelled to London at public expense for the Olympics
2) What was the total expenditure across the board for Kenya's delegation -
travel, accommodation, per diems, etc

The response was "let me try to ask". Unsurprisingly, that was the last I
heard of it.

Until we plug that fundamental flaw this initiative will remain a textbook
effort

On Friday, May 10, 2013, Walubengo J wrote:

> Just wondering,
>
> In the likely departure of both PS Ndemo and CEO Paul Kukubo, I wonder how
> much TTL (time to live) there is for our  https://opendata.go.ke/initiative.
>
> Contrast below:
> ~~~~
> Today, as he heads to Austin, Texas, for a Middle Class Jobs and
> Opportunity Tour<http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/05/08/president-obama-headed-austin-heres-why>,
> President Obama signed an Executive Order<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/09/executive-order-making-open-and-machine-readable-new-default-government->directing historic steps to make government-held data more accessible to
> the public and to entrepreneurs and others as fuel for innovation and
> economic growth. The Executive Order declares that information is a
> valuable resource and strategic asset for the Nation. We couldn’t agree
> more.
>
> http://wh.gov/J5tb
>
> ~~~~
>
> walu.
>
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