Image courtesy of parliament.go.ke
Kenyan parliamentary monitoring site Mzalendo is receiving between 700 and 1,300 users each days, but has launched a programme of “aggressive media outreach” in order to increase usage amongst Kenyans.
Mzalendo – Swahili for ‘Patriot’ – is a citizen-driven initiative founded in 2005 aimed at making parliamentary information accessible and encourage Kenyans the public to hold their MPs and Senators accountable based on fact.
The site contains member of parliament (MP) profiles including their contacts, Constituency Development Funds (CDF) spending and Hansard entries on each profile, as well as a blog, with the information sourced from government ministries and institutions and the Kenyan parliament’s website.
Executive director Jessica Musila told HumanIPO usage of the site was steady, with 61 per cent of users in the 18-34 age group, and it had a strong social media following, but the team behind it had embarked on an outreach programme to reach more Kenyans while adding more relevant content to the site.
“Usage via social media is on the rise, but regardless the team has embarked on an aggressive media outreach to encourage them to use the information on the site in writing stories involving MPs’ and senators’ work,” she said. “We are also pursuing partnerships with organisations doing transparency and accountability work at the county level to enlarge our footprint. Presently, one of our partner organisations is customising the Mzalendo software to enable residents hold county leaders accountable.”
She said the team was also looking to incorporate parliamentary information, such as motions, bills, statements and petition trackers, but was facing problems with Kenya’s parliamentary system.
“Unfortunately, attendance information remains inaccessible and voting is often by acclamation, making it hard to track individual parliamentarians’ voting records,” she said.
Musila said Kenyans in general were politically, though discussions were informal and much of what is shared on social media are rumours and counter-rumours.
“Hence the need for parliamentary information in easily accessible formats to allow the public to hold their elected leaders accountable based on fact,” she said. “Presently, there is still lots of confusion about the roles of the elected officials at the national and county levels, so Mzalendo helps to clarify things to the public based on the Constitution and Kenyan law. Even though Kenya has a people-centred Constitution the public is still not aware of opportunities for engaging their elected officials and Mzalendo highlights these.”
She said aside from citizens and journalists, Mzalendo had seen a growing importance amongst MPs themselves.
“Whenever Mzalendo is in the news, parliamentarians are very concerned about their profiles on Mzalendo. Some previous MPs cited their CDF record on Mzalendo in their campaigns during the 2013 elections. Others have written really appreciating Mzalendo’s work and wondering how they can improve their rating. A good number of parliamentarians have sent us photos and their up-to-date CVs. Others have joined social media and followed Mzalendo on Twitter.”
She said Mzalendo had served as the inspiration for similar sites across Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana’s Odekro and South Africa’s People’s Assembly, with such platforms helping the public to voice concerns and being particularly accessible to young people – with the bulk of Africa’s population aged under 35 estimated at over 70 per cent.
“Internet access through the mobile phone has also been a game changer encouraging many citizens to express themselves more. This is potentially a great influence in Africa’s democratic development as it is likely to raise citizen demand for responsive government and indirectly push African politicians to be more accountable to their constituents.”
