[kictanet] Enforcing the Right to Info Law through Tech

[henry at article19.org]

It is important to have as many infomediaries. Journalists are just one node. We need more civil society groups, academics, citizens utilising the tools to play their part as active citizens in between elections. 



From: "Nanjira Sambuli via kictanet" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> 
To: henry at article19.org 
Cc: "Nanjira Sambuli" <email at nanjira.com>, "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> 
Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2017 6:32:31 PM 
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Enforcing the Right to Info Law through Tech 

Well said! 
The plight of journalists isn't easy; despite trainings, it boils down to what resources are availed them in the newsroom to investigate these stories. Perhaps Henry can share more on their experiences training journalists, and the resulting outcome. 

I, for one, am more excited about the prospect of citizen-led Access to Info requests, and what government institutions will have as 'open by default'. 



On 11 January 2017 at 18:24, Wambui Wambui < [ mailto:wwamunyu2009 at gmail.com | wwamunyu2009 at gmail.com ] > wrote: 



Thanks Nanjira for the article. FOI could not have come at a more timely time given that we're in campaign mode. 
For a start, it would be great to get info on how incumbent leaders hopeful of another chance have used public resources these past four years. 

But despite the optimistic tone of the piece, I remain skeptical. Our journalists have had other digital tools to monitor public officials and their work, but don't have a great track record of using them consistently. E.g. 
Code for Africa's [ https://biscuitindex.codeforkenya.org/ | Biscuit Index ] , which shows how the amount allocated for county budgets - Code for Africa calls it 'tea and biscuits' - relates to the amount of money a mwananchi spends on basic necessities. I've seen a couple of stories based on it, but not the sustained, in-depth analysis that the index actually allows. 

Perhaps it is we citizens who will need to get curious and take up the tool. Wouldn't it be nice to see our police stations opening the OB book, and telling citizens which officers are manning which roadside checks? 

On Wed, Jan 11, 2017 at 5:03 PM, Nanjira Sambuli via kictanet < [ mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke | kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke ] > wrote: 

BQ_BEGIN

Here’s how Article19 East Africa and mySociety envision such to work in Kenya: [ https://www.mysociety.org/2017/01/09/why-we-believe-a-digital-foi-tool-can-improve-kenyan-journalism-and-empower-citizens-at-the-same-time/ | https://www.mysociety.org/2017/01/09/why-we-believe-a-digital-foi-tool-can-improve-kenyan-journalism-and-empower-citizens-at-the-same-time/ ] 

Regards, 

Nanjira 





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