References: Much government information is published and available through the Government Printer and respective departments. Indeed, the Kenya Gazette Supplement Number 65 of 2005 guarantees such access. The introduction of e-government has also meant that much basic department information is available online. See, for example: [ LINK ]

However, various other legislation hampers such access, notably the Official Secrets Act, which binds civil servants not to divulge certain categories of information without authorization from their respective accounting officers, the permanent secretary.

Other legislation which hampers access includes the Public Archives and Documentation Service Act, the Preservation of Public Security Act, the Defamation Act, the National Security Intelligence Act, the National Assembly (Powers and Privileges Act) and the Public Officers Ethics Act.

Peer Review Comments: Though the law stipulates that such information should be provided, In practice very few citizens access the basic documents due to the bureaucracy that is deeply rooted in the system.

References: There is no blanket formal appeal process against denied access to government information. Different departments might have their own rules/regulations or procedures. For instance, the Public Procurement Act mandates the Public Procurement Oversight Authority to provide information on tenders to interested parties. However, one could file a civil suit against the government for such access.

References: The nearest Kenya gets to an established mechanism for requesting government information is through question time in Parliament.

Otherwise, different government departments have their own regulations about access to the information they have. For example, the law governing public procurement mandates disclosure of transaction, whereas it is impossible for the average citizen to get any information touching on national security. As Kenya enters the e-government age, more information is likely to be availed online; but security considerations will persist.

Peer Review Comments: Even though the law allows members of the publice to acces to vital government records, most of the governmemt officials treat information as "private and confidential" in fear of the victimization.

References: There are categories of information that can be obtained with relative ease, while other categories might take a long while.

Government publications can be bought over the counter if in stock at the Government Printer or respective agencies/departments. However, information that has to be compiled on request can take very long to acquire, possibly even requiring the applicant to bribe the relevant officer. The recent introduction of performance contracts and service charters should greatly improve the management of such requests. The Communications Commission of Kenya has very specific time frames within which to provide responses. See [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: A lot of information is censored by the state.

References: Here again, the costs depend on the category of information. Quite a bit of information is now available online since the introduction of e-government. Publications through the Government Printers wil be sold at price. However, where information must be collated for a particular request, it can be relatively expensive.

References: Institutions with formal information provision regulations specify procedures and duration within which a response must be availed. See for example, the Communications Commission of Kenya's (CCK) service charter at [ LINK ]

Further, the government is legally bound to provide timely responses to parliamentary questions. However, the parliamentary option is not open to the average citizen. Thus where no conditions are stipulated - as is the case with CCK above - obtaining information can take any length of time.

Peer Review Comments: In general the default thinking is to try to deny any information, even if it is of no consequence. To the average civil servant, it seems, everything is a secret. They lack guidelines and knowledge on how to handle information. So it is safer to refuse to release information when there are no clear guidelines and a tradition of secrecy permeates. Note that the word for "government" in Kiswahili, the national language, is "serikali," which translates to "great secret."

Peer Review Comments: There is some information that may take a long time to access due to political manipulation or interests.

References: The costs incurred depend on the information sought. Where people have to travel in search of information - as is the case with the centralized government pension system - then costs can be quite high. Hopefully, the introduction of performance contracts and service charters will improve efficiency and lower costs incurred.

Peer Review Comments: Costs are high if one does not know who to ask and where to look. Otherwise, by asking the right people and using a small inducement (not corruption really), one can actually get very quick service and information. People with no education or connections bear a disproportionate cost.

Peer Review Comments: Some information may take a long time to resolve due to controversies arising from political interests or manipulation.

References: When information is denied, the Official Secrets Act is often cited; or alternately, the officers just remain silent.

Peer Review Comments: A culture of secrecy permeates the system and is the default response.

Peer Review Comments: in Kenya the Official Secrets Act is still highly enforced. The government takes advantage of the clause to gag the public and the Media from accessing certain information. Until the Official Secrets Act is repealed the chasm between the public and the government will remain wide.