When the media carried a report that the proposed amendments to the electoral law contemplated reversing the current application of technology to a manual one, there was hue and cry.
The public outcry was a clear testimony of the faith of the citizenry, including the political class, has on the ability of technology to ensure efficiency and integrity in the electoral process.
This celebration of technology transcends elections to the entire spectrum of service delivery.
There is currently pending before the National Assembly a Bill that seeks to amend the Elections Act. When the media carried a report that the proposed amendments to the electoral law contemplated reversing the current application of technology to a manual one, there was hue and cry.
All political players castigated the proposal. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), on its part, sought to clarify that all they were attempting to do was to develop a complementary mechanism in compliance with decisions of the courts following the 2017 elections.
The public outcry was a clear testimony of the faith of the citizenry, including the political class, has on the ability of technology to ensure efficiency and integrity in the electoral process. This celebration of technology transcends elections to the entire spectrum of service delivery.
A few years ago, Kenya got an award for its use of technology in delivering public services as a result of the Huduma Centre innovation.
With the Covid-19 pandemic and the restriction on physical movement of persons that came with it, the utility and applicability of technology to deliver services were accelerated. From a shift to using mobile money instead of cash money to paperless communication, technology became widely accepted as the preferred medium of service delivery.
A few weeks ago, this column focused on service delivery in cities and made a call for active engagement by resident associations. In Nairobi, there are several such associations which are transforming their neighbourhoods through collective action.
While Karengata was the pioneer association and continues to be active, as is the association in Runda, in the recent past, the most vocal is Kilimani Residents Association. The latter is debunking the myth that the middle class is the least engaged sector in the governance of their country and neighbourhoods.
Having more engaged residents, especially in urban areas, can be upscaled through deployment of technology. While civic education and civic engagement have traditionally been physical, the future requires a move more towards use of technology to shape public opinion and processes.
Designing and deploying digital citizen engagement platforms will provide innovative, cost-effective and sustainable avenues for advocating enhanced service delivery.
One such tool called Hatua has been pioneered by the Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations (KARA) for enhancing solid waste management and access to justice in the sub-sector.
The platform seeks to enhance transparency and accountability in service delivery by enabling members to report incidents, which get logged and then responded to online through phone numbers to service desks just like other online service platforms.
What is unique though is the fact that it is designed and run by the residents association itself and not the service providers.
The association then links up with other associations and duty bearers to ensure accountability. The platform can thus serve as a toll for ensuring that advocacy translates to direct and practical improvement in the delivery of services.
It moves from just being a talk shop to a place where complaints once received are channelled to the responsible actors, be they the county government or elected leaders and through it feedback is sought and relayed back to the complainant. What is more exciting is that the feedback loop is automatic through the technology.
With the responsible officials who deliver services on the system, when the complaint is recorded, the officials at the lower level can see it and so are their superiors back end. This strengthens the accountability tool and ensures effective monitoring of service delivery.
This example shows the innovations that advocacy groups should focus on with a view to enhancing social accountability and the effectiveness of their work by leveraging on the power of technology.
