Country Commitments

Kenya has gained international accolades for being the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to have an open government data portal, a significant step to improve governance and implement the new constitution’s provisions on access to information. The Kenya Open Data Initiative, supported by the World Bank and other partners, makes key government data freely available to the public through a single online portal. There are regular additions of new data to Kenya’s website (www.opendata.go.ke). In the next six weeks, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission plans to share the official boundaries for the new constituencies.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been several training and outreach events, coordinated by Kenya’s Open Government and Open Data Working Group, to introduce the concept of open data to the public. In January, media owners called for an industry-wide drive to evaluate new digital journalism tools, including the open data portal, during a strategy roundtable jointly convened by the African Media Initiative and World Bank Institute (WBI). The event encouraged the media, technologists, and the wider population to tap into the 350 detailed datasets on public expenditure, demographic trends, and service delivery. In February, a training session for journalists was held in the North Rift Valley region. Also in February, the Working Group launched a training series on using the open data for universities and government.

The Ministry of Information and Communication continues its leadership in revolutionizing Kenya's ICT landscape, making open data a high priority. Ministry of Information and Communications Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo is Kenya’s OGP champion. Ndemo filmed a recent segment for YouTube, calling on all African governments to share their data and information as the basis for the continent’s development. The Kenya ICT Board also plays a critical role in the OGP initiative and is the base for weekly meetings of the civil society-led Working Group.

In addition to the training, outreach, and other events noted above, the Working Group is making excellent progress on its draft action plan. The February draft details Kenya’s initiatives toward an open government, making the link with the reform process to make the government transparent and more accountable to its citizens. It is seeking to amplify efforts such as open data and, more broadly, build a National ICT Infrastructure to boost citizen inclusiveness. The plan calls for the government to employ technology for improved public service delivery to individuals and organizations through strategies. It offers examples such as the Kenya Education Network that promotes the use of ICT in teaching, learning, and research in higher education, the Transport Integrated Management System to harmonize data and information in the transport sector, and technological advances in the judicial sector.

The Kenya’s Open Government and Open Data Working Group remains the forum for consultation with civil society and is leading the action plan development process. The Working Group is establishing web and mobile phone-based channels for citizen engagement on OGP. The existing draft Action Plan is being circulated for feedback. Kenya has channeled USD 10 million from the World Bank to help support its Open Data initiative and the development of its OGP action plan. It plans to hold a national conference on open data in April 2012 to gain public support for national priorities that will serve as the basis of its OGP commitments.