Kenyans often encounter political promises centered on roads, water, health facilities, and other essential public services. However, whether these promises are delivered is ultimately determined through budgeting and equitable resource allocation. Early this year, residents of Marsabit demanded clean water, passable roads, and a well-equipped and functional health facility. Last year, residents of Kilifi staged a protest demanding the completion of the 56 km Ganze – Kilifi Road, as poor road conditions were affecting their movements and posing harm to children and pregnant women. Behind each of these demands lies a budget decision. Whether communities gain access to clean water, quality healthcare, and safe roads ultimately depends on how public resources are allocated and managed. Without budgetary allocation, Kenyans are likely to continue experiencing this lack of services or poorly maintained services. These development issues reflect the pressing needs of the community.
Many public demonstrations reflect unmet social, economic, and development needs within communities and while elections determine who has the political mandate to govern, the Public Finance management cycle through the County Intergrated Development Plan (CIDP) determines how that mandate is translated into services and development.
Budget literacy is a critical skill for any human rights defender wanting to advance accountability and promote the realization of rights within their communities. It involves being equipped with skills and knowledge in budget preparation, budget execution, and budget auditing. More importantly, for human rights defenders, budget participation is not simply about teaching citizens how budgets work; it is about ensuring that people can influence decisions that determine whether their rights are realised.Too often, public participation processes are reduced to formalities, limiting meaningful influence over decisions that affect people’s lives and undermining inclusive, accessible, and meaningful participation, particularly for marginalized and underrepresented communities. Citizens are expected to participate directly through attending public participation hearings and indirectly through their Members of the county assemblies in the budget processes at the county level.
With the elections coming up, it is important for every citizen to keenly look into the manifestos of political aspirants vying for different positions in the county, especially the Governor’s manifestos which will inform the (CIDP) and subsequently the Annual Development Plan (ADP). County budgeting is a political process as much as it is a financial process as such human rights defenders should be actively engaging in these processes to ensure that public policy discussions and development priorities reflect the needs and aspirations of communities.
While Article 1, Article 10, and Article 174 of the 2010 Constitution make public participation a core national principle of governance, public participation processes are often undermined by low turnout, tokenistic engagement, and the exclusion of marginalized groups, denying many Kenyans the right to decide how and which development is important to them. According to an AfriCOG citizen perception survey, 73% of Kenyans found it difficult to participate in county planning and budgeting, while 76% found it difficult to influence county decision-making. These findings demonstrate that the challenge is often not the existence of participation rights, but the ability of citizens to engage meaningfully in governance processes.
Every August, Kenyans have an opportunity to shape development plans at the county and national levels and to have a say in the community projects that require budgetary allocations for implementation; hence, Kenyans need knowledge and skills in budgetary processes i.e. budget preparation, budget execution and budget monitoring, and, most importantly, have the ability to participate meaningfully in these processes. Human rights defenders can engage directly in public participation forums and advocate through elected representatives, including Members of County Assembly to ensure that their needs and priorities are captured in the final budget adopted by the County Assembly. There are also sectoral meetings with Civil Society Organizations, where the County Assembly, through the county budget appropriation committee, holds consultations before approval.
It is also worth noting that the budget process does not end with allocation; human rights defenders also play an important role in monitoring budget implementation and demanding accountability for public expenditure. Community members are supposed to have access to the final budget and the projects that will be implemented in the financial year, our role then is to undertake social accountability initiatives, including social audits, to promote transparency and accountability. Social audits assess not only whether projects exist, but also whether they are delivered effectively, meet community needs, and provide value for public resources. Kenya’s legal and accountability framework provides several tools for Human rights defenders to audit the county’s perfomance. Documents such as the County Budget Review and Outlook Paper (CBROP) and Auditor-General reports provide valuable information on budget implementation, expenditure, compliance, and project performance.
Participating in county budget processes is an essential component of democratic governance and a key avenue through which communities can influence decisions that affect their lives. County development priorities should reflect the lived realities and aspirations of the people they serve. Human rights defenders play a vital role in amplifying community voices, advocating for equitable resource allocation, and holding duty bearers accountable for the use of public funds. For this reason, budget literacy is a critical tool in understanding how budgets are planned, approved and implemented.
Keep an eye out on the next skill session where we will explore the budget cycle and the key windows of influence available to citizens and human rights defenders seeking to shape public decision-making.