08 December 2006

Creating demand for accountability

TEDGlobal2007 speaker Ory Okolloh is one
of those young Africans that graduated from Western universities and
then went back home armed with degrees, tools, a vision and the
intention to improve the state of their countries. The first time I met
her I discovered a smart and driven woman who
could really make a difference – an impression confirmed in later
meetings. A few months ago, she co-founded Mzalendo, a "watchblog" that keeps an eye on the members of the Kenyan parliament (MPs). "Political accountability stems from demand",
she says. People have to demand it – and that’s what Ory and co. are
trying do with Mzalendo: demand accountability from the MPs by
monitoring what they do for their constituents.

The Kenyan parliament’s website, she writes in this post,
was taken down two years ago "after protests by some MPs who were
embarrassed about their CVs being published online", and it has not
been replaced yet. Ory and the Mzalendo crew (the name means "patriot"
in Swahili) have made those profiles available on the blog, scrutinize
the MPs activities, and publish news and analysis, with the hope to
move things forward:

"There is only so much
bemoaning you can do about your representation. We have been doing so
for dozens of years. There is nothing that is being voiced, written or
blogged that has not already been said before, when it comes to how
abysmal Kenyan politicians are. There comes a point after which talking ceases to serve a point, and we need concrete solutions".

In 2007 Kenya will have general elections: Ory and her colleagues’ watchblog is likely to play a significant role.

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