Promoting e-participation in County Governments: A case of a county government in a developing country

Public participation is considered an important pillar in governance in Kenya as demonstrated by the way it has been severally enshrined in the constitution of Kenya 2010 as well as the County Governments Acts. Despite such policy and regulatory frameworks for public participation being in place, county governments in Kenya are still characterized by poor public participation in governance and government processes. Additionally, despite several studies demonstrating that information technology (IT) is a critical enabler of public participation, not much is known on how county governments in Kenya are harnessing the power of technology for public participation. This research attempts to understand how IT is being used for public participation, and the current challenges associated with its application in the promotion of public participation in county governments in Kenya. This paper, presents the initial findings from one of the counties. The study used interviews with both junior and senior county officials. Additionally, county documents as well as information from county websites and social media platforms were used. The study findings have revealed that the use of IT was gaining prominence in county engagements with the public, more specifically, the use of social media. However, it would appear that civic participation through these platforms was minimal. Additionally, the county strategic documents reveal that e-participation is yet to be appreciated as a strategic factor in increasing and enriching public participation in county governance. Several challenges were also identified and these are presented in this paper. It was thus hoped that these findings would enable an increasing understanding of the prevailing local circumstances which inhibit e-participation within county governments. The findings have practical implications on how county governments in Kenya (and possibly other developing countries) may better position themselves to exploit technology for improved public participation.