Regarding the steps to be taken for failure to avail public documents; Section 7 to 24 of the Access to information Act. 31 of 2016 lays out the procedure for requesting for access to information to be made in writing and presented to the chief executive officer of the public entity or the designated information officer where this function has been delegated (section 7 and 8).
The officer is required to provide feedback on the same within twenty one days of receipt of the application either approving the request or declining and providing reasons for this.
This decision can be appealed before the Commission on Administrative Justice which has powers to summon the person(s) holding the information for inquiry and make orders for immediate access. If the commission fails to give the orders sought and the applicant is not satisfied with the reasons for the same, the applicant can seek legal redress for violation of this right at the High Court and the policy document can also be challenged on the basis.
Section 7 provides that a formal application in writing is made to the Ministry of ICT and addressed to the Chief Executive Officer as interpreted in section 2 of the Act as the Principal Secretary in the case of a Government Ministry or Department who in this case is the Cabinet Secretary Mr Joseph Mucheru who will advise if he has delegated his function as the Information Access Officer under the Act to any officer of the Ministry of ICT.
The reminder addressed to the PS. Mr Victor Kyalo is only sufficient if the function of the Information Access Officer under the Act has been delegated to him by the CS.
Regards,
Esther Kamande
Advocate | Policy Analyst
Twitter: @enkamande
EstherIn the event that this request continues to be ignored what recourse do we have to enforce such said request?Ali HusseinPrincipalHussein & Associates+254 0713 601113"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ AristotleSent from my iPadThank you Ali for the 7th Reminder, I am equally concerned as no feedback on the same has been forthcoming for almost 6 months since July 2016.
Article 35 of the constitution introduced a number of reforms emphasizing on open-decision making process, citizen participation and the role of transparency in building up an informed citizenry towards a democratic nation. In practice, open decision-making is to a large extent realized through the right of the general public to access documents and Access to Information Act No. 31 of 2016, breathes life into this.
All documents held by the state with the exceptions as provided for in section 6 of the Access to information Act. 31 of 2016 are public therefore the amended Draft ICT Policy document must be provided to the public for further scrutiny after the comments have been taken into account. Furthermore, section 4 (3) is very clear on information held by a public entity or a private body to be provided expeditiously at a reasonable cost. This means that information should be provided with “speed and efficiency” otherwise it undermines this right as well as democracy. It has been 6 months and counting therefore this right is being undermined.
In this regard I add my voice to request for the amended Draft ICT Policy to be provided expeditiously as provided by the law for further scrutiny.
Regards,
Esther Kamande
Advocate | Policy Analyst
Twitter: @enkamande
On Tue, Jan 17, 2017 at 4:52 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:Bwana PS KyaloThe above refers.Could you kindly update us on the way forward regarding the 2016 ICT Policy?We would like to know how the community can help further and when the Policy will be become a 'live' document so we can be able to delve into it and extract the gems that lie therein.We would also like to know how the multi-stakeholder engagement benefited the development of the Policy, what was added, removed and the criteria used to do so. Of course we are also keen to see the final document.Thank you and looking forward to your response.RegardsAli HusseinPrincipalHussein & Associates+254 0713 601113"Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought". ~ Albert Szent-GyörgyiSent from my iPad
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.