Open government data portal closed for most Kenyans

Margaret Mutune, in her early 20s, is an avid consumer of Internet services in Nairobi. You will always find her online chatting with friends on social media or browsing websites for the latest.

Ms Mutune’s fondness for Internet technologies is similar to that of many Kenyans, in a country where Internet penetration is now close to 50 per cent and is set to increase in coming years.

To tap into this growing Internet reach and guarantee public access to information as per the constitution requirements, the government in 2011 launched the Kenya Open Data Initiative (KODI).

This platform provides useful data on key development sectors such as agriculture, health, education, employment and public finance. But three years later, there is still low awareness on KODI among most Kenyans.

A new study by I-Hub Research Centre and Jesuit Hakiimani —launched last week — found that only 14 per cent of Kenyans used the open data portal to seek government information.

Findings from rural and urban informal settlements where most Kenyans live revealed that many people rely on intermediaries such as chiefs, churches and schools to get government information on issues like bursary allocations, devolved funds and employment opportunities.

“These intermediaries may at times be wrong. So we strongly recommend capacity-building among this group to ensure government information given to the public is right,” noted Dr Elias Mokua, Director and principal researcher of Jesuit Hakiimani Centre.

Leonida Mutuku, Research Manager at I-Hub called on the government to increase awareness on the KODI platform.

“Our study showed that there is a great demand for government information in the country. So people only need to know where they can easily get it from,” she said.

She however stated that sensitising the public alone is not enough. “Information provided in KODI should be tailored to match people’s needs on the ground.”

For instance, the study showed that matters of security ranked high among residents of West Pokot and Mombasa. In Machakos, more people were interested in information about the county’s budget whereas in Busia and Isiolo, health concerns were top. 

Even though most urban residents like Ms Mutune can readily access Internet and log on to KODI, Dr Mokua noted that lack of Internet technologies and low literacy levels in rural and marginalised communities like Isiolo hinders them from accessing the portal.

“It’s here that traditional communication channels  such as local radio stations, chiefs’ barazas and church gatherings can be used to reach people with government information.”

Most Kenyans interviewed during the study period disclosed their dissatisfaction with government online data platforms. They noted that in most cases, government websites host outdated and insufficient information. “This needs to change,” they said.

Ms Kaburo Kobia, Project Manager for Local Digital Content at the Kenya ICT Authority added that government departments should be forthcoming with information. “They should aim at updating their websites on regular basis as well as forwarding this information to KODI.”

She added that the ICT Authority would begin deploying Open Data Fellows (experts) in all counties to hasten data entry and ensure each region has data relevant to its development needs.

Dr Mokua underscored the significance of the KODI platform. “Knowledge is power. And it is only when people have information that they will begin participating effectively in nation building,” he said.

There are few projects that are using this data in innovative ways for the benefit of the communities and which  includes the Public expenditure portal which  reviews spending of Constituency Development Funds (CDF) at county level, Virtual Kenya: Visualisation of MPs (Members of Parliament) who are willing/unwilling to pay their taxes.

Msema Kweli: Mobile application to track Community Development Funds (CDF).

Others are Google Public Data Explorer which analyses trends in government expenditure for social spending, physical infrastructure, and other requirements based on data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and Huduma, a constituency platform for citizens to demand social services from the government.

Initiative

The Kenya Open Data Initiative (KODI), holds more than 160 datasets organised under six sub-headings: education, energy, health, population, poverty and water and sanitation.

Users can explore data at the country level, but also by county or constituency. The platform includes newly created geospatial boundaries for Kenya’s 47 counties and geocoded datasets can be visualised quickly using simple built-in tools.

Data is pulled in from the national census and government ministries as well as from the World Bank.

The initiative aims to promote data-driven decision making and help improve government transparency and accountability.

Users of the open data portal can create interactive charts and tables, and developers can download the raw data via an API to analyse and build applications for web and mobile.