GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA

The Good Governance Teams: Our Interventions

Citizens’ Rights- Creating Awareness Through Advocacy

Many Kenyans suffer in silence due to ignorance. They pay so much taxes which hardly benefits them but goes in the pockets of leaders and their accomplices. In Kenya about 30% of the taxes collected cannot be properly accounted for. In Nairobi for example, garbage is hardly collected yet the residents pay billions for garbage collection every month. But the residents have never done anything about it. In the suburbs, there are no street lights, roads are impassable, no drainage, etc yet every month citizens pay billions for each of these services but the services are never provided and the residents simply do nothing about it.

The Good Governance Team – Kenya (GGT-K) will seek to mobilize citizens to speak out demanding for services for which they pay for. We shall seek to organize citizens into structured Citizens Interests Groups and have officials send petitions, go to court or hold peaceful demonstrations in offices of the leaders to pressure them to deliver services. The GGT-K will provide legal services and seek court action to have leaders who sleep on the jobs sacked.

Court Representations- Speaking for the Voiceless to Secure Justice

Dealing with some issues administratively or politically can be a daunting task in Kenya. It’s fraught with delays, threats, darkness, etc. It’s not that the courts are any better. Long delays are the norms. Some judges are reported to arrive at work 3-4 or even more hours late. Clients who arrive in court at 7.45 have to wait to past 11am etc to be served. Widespread corruption in the entire chain of justice systems is also a norm. The GGT-K will seek reforms in the justice system. The GGT-Kenya will secure, through the courts, key decisions where the government and parliament have failed to act through sheer negligence. Millions of Kenyans have been harmed due to Government negligence. These poor people suffer in silence in their homes. Some were given wrong medication and became paralyzed. Others were shot by police. GGT-Kenya will take such cases to court for compensations.

 Voter Awareness and Empowerment

Kenyan voter is bought very cheaply due to widespread poverty. Politicians give them half a dollar, quarter a dollar, etc so that the person votes for him. Politicians have perfected this evil practice of buying votes. Its shameless corruption. Politicians once elected then turn to looting spree to recover the money he/she spent bribing voters. Elected leaders give lip service in the development front, in fighting corruption etc. When an opportunity presents itself for the politician to make a quick kill through corrupt deals, they spare no moment or morals to go for it. Corruption breeds corruption. No wonder the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which is tasked in protecting public funds was itself accused of taking bribes so as to go slow on mega corruption reports cited in the Auditors Reports. The PAC-2015 had to be disbanded.

The Good Governance Team – Kenya (GGT-K) finds this voter buying a major problem in the selection of the right, genuine, honest and visionary leaders. Policy oriented campaigns are disregarded. Leaders are voted on the basis of tribe, region, big man, clan, how fat ones pocket is, lineage, etc. Most of the leaders hence have no urge to develop the country as they almost take leadership as their “entitlement”. Big Man, tribe, and money syndromes pervade Kenya voters instead of “policy syndrome”. The GGT-Kenya will carry massive civic education to enlighten Kenyans on the need to ask the candidates how their policies, their party policies will meet public needs. We have to ask to focus on policy issues if Kenya were to develop. If focus shifted to policy and the leaders vision, away from ethnic focus, not a single elected leader today will be re-elected. And with such massive civic education, Kenyans will be enlightened and choose brilliant leaders who will develop the country and eliminate poverty within 5 years.

Achievements of Regina Good Governance for Africa Inc.

We shall consider we have succeeded if we:

1. Establishing 48 Good Governance Teams in all Counties
2. Have our message reach to over 14 million Kenyans explaining the importance of good governance as critical to national development
3. Participate in numerous socio-economic development activities such as upgrading mudwall houses, dug boreholes, paid school fees for bright students who come from very poor background
4. Submitted petitions, have questions raised in parliament, gone to courts to challenge critical actions if Government fails to act on our petitions
5. Published well- researched reports
6. Have more than 6 million voters registered
7. Protect wildlife via creating mass awareness of importance of wildlife in Kenya’s economy, financing NGOs committed to wildlife conservation.

Action Plan: Planned Activities

1. Hold seminars - open for everyone
2. Hold seminars for Women
3. Hold public rallies- big and small scale
4. Hold days roadshows
5. Print and distribute leaflets
6. Select Good Governance Teams and promote their ideals through leaflets
7. Offer social assistance for poverty alleviation such as paying schools fees for bright orphaned children, etc
8. Upgraded mud-wall houses
9. Assist very poor women secure energy efficient and smokeless cookers
10. Provide all logistical support (transport, material, phones, etc) to Good Governance Teams

The Good Governance Team: Protocols and Guiding Principles and Values

The good governance values include:

1. Honest leadership
2. Commitment to the principles of:
   1. Accountability
   2. Transparency
   3. Submission to due process and rule of law
   4. Democratic rule
3. Fairness and equality for all before the law and public policy
4. Committed to fight against corruption. Will never be corrupted
5. Value for money and resources. Non-wasteful. Be good custodian of public good
6. Protects and defends the public interests
7. Committed to protection and conservation of environment and wildlife
8. Does not put personal interests first but that of society
9. Public office is not for personal gain but for service
10. End the use of violence as a way of settling disputes in Africa. Create human capacity of great stature internationally that can act as Diplomats to end crisis.
11. Be responsive and do so with speed. No delays.
12. Ensure that political contenders gracefully accept defeat where voting occurs or in a judicial ruling or in any contest when you are defeated in a clean way