County Government of Siaya CECM Ordered to Release Information
The Commission has ordered County Executive Committee Member for Water, Sanitation and Environment to release contract details and status progress of various water projects undertaken in various wards in Siaya County.
A resident of Siaya County, Mr. Mike Ochieng, made a request for information to the CECM to release information relating to twenty-one projects which are being undertaken in the wards across the county. The CECM did not respond to the request within the stipulated timeliness in the Access to Information Act, 2016, impelling Mr. Ochieng to seek the intervention of the Commission for an appeal of the request.
The Commission, in a letter to the CECM on 20th December, 2023, noted that the information sought related to contract details and status of water projects in various wards in Siaya County and that information on contract form part of the information which should be proactively disclosed and updated on a regular basis in line with section 5 of the ATI Act, 2016. The Commission therefore, requested the CECM to respond to the request and to indicate the corrective measures put in place to ensure compliance with proactive disclosure obligations. The CECM did not respond to the information request and did not respond to the Commission’s direction, hence illiciting issuance of orders by the Commission.
“Pursuant to powers granted by section 22 (3)(a)(i) and 23 (2)(a) of the Access to Information Act, 2016, the Commission determined that the information requested by the requester is public information /records held by the respondent and thus orders that the County Executive Committee Member for Water, Sanitation and Environment, County Government of Siaya, facilitates access to information and records held related to the request for information made by Mike Ochieng through a letter dated 8th December, 2023, within seven days from the date of the order,” read the order of the Commission issued on 11th March, 2024.