Strong and democratic social movements are the main driving force for meaningful human rights advocacy. Hakijamii remains committed to working closely in assisting and strengthening of such movements throughout the country. On the 12th September 2011 Hakijamii organized a training session on leadership, governance, financial management and information, communication and technology for members of the Kisumu Social Rights Association (KISORA) in Kisumu town at Magadi Catholic Social Hall. The objective of the training was to enhance the knowledge and skills of KISORA members on democratic leadership, accountable and transparent governance, basic financial systems, resource mobilization and the effective use of information, communication and technology. .
Participants were called upon to identify some of the immediate leadership, governance and capacity gap issues and come up with suggestions on how to address them. An action plan was developed to address areas of collaboration and networking, internal reporting, membership contributions, accountability and transparency as well as effective use of information, communication and technology in human rights’ advocacy. They plan to use the knowledge gained in this training to improve their internal leadership mechanism and fundraising for the organization.
With the opening up of the budget-making process, Hakijamii’s community partners were some of the first grassroots organizations to take advantage of this new opportunity by presenting their views and concerns to the Parliamentary Committee during public hearings. Indeed, the Nairobi People’s Settlement Network, Muungano wa Wanavijiji, Kasarani Youth Congress, Kutoka Network, and Kisumu Social Rights Association were pioneers in calling for an open budget process. From 2007 they have been engaged in developing a truly People’s Budget based on the clear understanding that the budget is an extremely important tool in the realization of human rights and cannot therefore be left exclusively to technocrats and politicians.
Attached is the budget proposal as presented by KISORA on June 23, 2011: The people’s budget
As part of the continued commitment to ensure participation in the implementation of the Constitution, especially with regard to the progressive realization of economic and social rights, Hakijamii and its community partners presented written petitions to the Task Force that is reviewing education policies and laws to ensure that they comply with the new Constitution. In their petitions the focus was on the right to free and compulsory education as stipulated under article 53 of the Constitution. The petitions underscored the need to ensure that immediate steps are taken by the Government to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to free and compulsory primary education for all children because the right is immediate and is not subject to the requirement of progressive realization.
Since 2007, Nairobi People’s Settlement Network (NPSN), in collaboration with other community groups,* has been holding an annual forum led by residents of the people’s settlements (slums) to prioritize the people’s needs and make recommendations to the Kenyan government on how to allocate the national budget. According to the People’s Budget, “[t]he primary responsibility of the government is to respect, protect, promote and fulfill all human rights of its citizens. To achieve this… the government must [enact] appropriate laws and policies as well as provide money and resources to address the basic needs of its citizens.”
A government’s commitment to fulfill basic human rights is determined by how it allocates its resources (national budget). It does not matter how just a constitution or laws are if the government does not provide the resources needed to put these laws into practice. Every government disperses resources through its annual budget and through this budget it becomes clear whom and what are valued by the government. Therefore, it is the belief of residents of the people’s settlements that the budget is a highly effective tool in improving their standard of living and claiming their rights.
See the following video to learn more about the People’s Budget:
Before the People’s Budget, most residents of the settlements had no platform to make their priorities heard by the government. The government would create the annual national budget with little input from the common Kenyan; projects that residents of the settlements found most essential to improving their quality of life were rarely funded. Nairobi People’s Settlement Network decided it was time for the people of the settlements to become more involved in the budgeting process and stop waiting for the government to solve their problems for them.
With the help of Hakijamii, residents of the settlements in Nairobi (and recently Kisumu) hold meetings to outline where the greatest need for government assistance lies within education, land and housing, food security, environment, economic and social empowerment, water and sanitation, health, and safety and security sectors. For the national budget to be properly utilized all citizens of the country, not just government officials, should play an active role in budget formulation. With input from the settlements the government can make a more informed decision on what, where and how money from the national budget should be spent.
Meetings have already begun in preparation for the next People’s Budget forum, scheduled for May of 2011. It is a long and arduous process, but it is worth all the time and effort. With the People’s Budget the residents of the settlements are one step closer to living a life with dignity.
Strengthen grassroots people's capacity to effectively participate in advocating for the progressive realization of economic, social and cultural rights.
