Kenyans can now access information about the government’s development activities at the click of a button; this after President Uhuru Kenyatta launched a public information portal last week at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC)
Dubbed the President’s Delivery Unit portal (PDU), the website contains details of all development activities, costs, timelines and the status of these projects done so far by the Jubilee Government.
The President’s Delivery Unit indicates that the website is meant to show the Journey of Transformation of the Jubilee government. It highlights on the fulfillment of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s 2013 pledges or manifesto, key development priorities and the achievements of jubilee government has made in general.
The Jubilee government which came to power in 2013 has so far been under criticism over the promises that came with their manifesto as they were sworn into power. The newly launched portal, according to President Uhuru Kenyatta, will give Kenyans a better understanding as to which projects have been completed so far and how many are still under way.
During the launch, President Uhuru Kenyatta said that it will help cut red tape bureaucracy in the dissemination of government information to citizens, saving time while fostering transparency. The President also acknowledged that there has been a disconnect between the people and the development of projects like the SGR which has said to be a major economic boost for the country, yet the citizens have not yet accepted the benefits of such projects. This is mainly due to the fact that there have been money-laundering scandals that have rocked the country in the last couple of years thus people don’t yet acknowledge the longer economic development that some of these projects will bring. The president, however, accepted that as much as there have been discrepancies with his leadership, Kenyans should see the bigger picture and focus on building the nation and its overall GDP.
Deputy President William Ruto also commented and said that the portal was meant to give a score card on the government not by the tribal trend that has haunted the country for years, but by the delivery of the government so far. He said that currently, there are thousands of untold stories of Kenyans whose lives have been changed by the work done over the last four years but we have been blinded by the wrong information that has been fed to us. The delivery portal would, however, have all this information ready and available to all who want to track their progress.
How it works.
To access the portal, citizens can log into www.delivery.go.ke. The portal has been divided into 3 sections; Flagship programs, My County and Ministry Milestones.
Here, you can go to any section of your choosing to see what developments have been made either in the education, health, infrastructure or security sector in any county of your choosing.
Apart from information already uploaded on the site, one can also post a query on the site and get feedback within 24-48 hours. However, this timeline is set to reduce to 12 hours in the coming days.
Apart from the website, the portal also has diverse social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp, allowing citizens to engage with the government in real time.
Some of the featured projects include the Standard Gauge Railway, access to electricity, ease of doing business, roads construction, the ICT sector and Agriculture.
Featured image via Lifemagazine.
