The future is a matter of choice, not chance: The Case of Open Data in Kenya, What does it mean ?

On Friday the Government of Kenya launched an Open data platform (www.opendata.go.ke) a portal where the public can access government datasets ranging from Government expenditures and County Data on (Population, Education, Poverty, Health ,Water and Sanitation).

I hope you have stopped by the site and had a look at the data provided by the Government and if not, you better do; the portal was built with our taxes and we need to look at it , make use of it and if we feel it doesn’t suit our needs , the portal has a suggestion button where you can ask for more additional datasets.

Data alone is not useful, but transforming it into information and knowledge and making sense of it with an aim of solving the challenges we have in Kenya will be a step towards the Kenya as espoused by the New Constitution.  

Imagine a scenario where you can access all Parliamentary expenditures and minutes of their committees with analysed Hansard discussions?

 Now stop and think again, imagine a scenario where you ‘ a Citizen of Kenya’ can take the public expenditure data and actually go to the ground and  take social audit of  the projects and verify the expenditures stated  ?

 The battle of corruption and the journey towards transparency and accountability begins from common folk like you and I .

The war on food security and equal distribution of resources begins when the citizens scrutinise government data and begin to ask to their Governments prompting them to make responsive decisions in development. Take for instance the case scenarios of budgeting and budget allocations in Kenya, how is it done? And how are the figures of allocation determined? Why are some ministries funded more than others? Will open data explain more on this?

For the Youth, this open data provides an excellent platform to not only plan for youth resources and also alignment of programs but it will shed light on how   the Government ok Kenya spends on youth . It will be interesting to examine the various excellent policies we have and countercheck that to the priorities of Government spending on the issues bedevilling Kenya’s quest for development.

I am currently Reading a book titled ‘Ten Lessons from the Future’ by Wolfgang Grulke a Futurist . One of the lessons’ the author espouses is; - Information and ideas fuel the economy Pure knowledge is worthless, skills are everything.

The future of Kenya now lies in the hands of the Kenyans who are ready to put their hands in the plough and hold their leaders accountable.

Addressing the Challenges we face ....My thoughts as a Young Kenyan on the Middle Class in Kenya

Is Activism loosing meaning among the populace?Are we still stuck in the old ways of Activism of the 1960's 70' s 80's , addressing 21st Century issues with strategies and methodologies of yester years? 

 

Looking at the recent activities going on in our country , i asked a question ' what really ails the middle class of Kenya?'

How come no one is moved by the embezzlement of the FPE funds? How comes its easy to forget and tolerate corruption and not react with approriate measures that can cause our Government to stand still and change it course of action and work on its service delivery.

 

The cost of living is rising so high , 2013 doesnt promise to be better since we will have  mang Government officials coming to power and that means we as Kenyans have to be ready to pay their salaries and the tax burden will be high .

 

So this brings me to ask, will we as Kenyans ever change? will we be able to hold our county Governments accountable? as it is , its only the activists who go to the streets to demand for corrupt leaders to vacate office.It is here that i stop and pose this question , why is it that its only the activists who go to the streets? is it that the Civil Society and the activists dont have grassroot support ? or is it that Kenyans do not have information and are not aware of their rights as Citizines of this Land Kenya.Or are we stuck  with old strategies of  yester years addressing complex issues of the 21st Century.

 

 It is sad , i repeat again , very sad to see how we tolarate corruption ,even though we are the very people that suffer from being overtaxed. As a middle class youth who is interested in changing the political environment of my Country , i have tagged you in this note to ask you this question,What other ways can we reach the middle class? is going to the streets the only way to demand for justice? ( so far so good the government seems not be moved ) .

 

 

The Solution to Kenya's Challenges lies with the Middle class   ,

'“What I call middle-class society is any society that becomes rigidified in predetermined forms, forbidding all evolution, all gains, all progress, all discovery. I call middle-class a closed society in which life has no taste, in which the air is tainted, in which ideas and men are corrupt. And I think that a man who takes a stand against this death is in a sense a revolutionary.” Frantz Fanon