Provision of Information to Members of County Assembly In Siaya, Kenya

Abstract

The devolved government system in Kenya provides the citizens with opportunity to make decisions at the county ward level. Members of County Assembly - MCAs are elected by citizens at the ward level to represent the constituents, legislate laws and to provide oversight over the county government. They require up to date and accurate information to successfully perform their duties. This study aimed to investigate the access and use of information by the Members of County Assembly in Siaya and establish strategies to assist the County government to enhance the use of information. The objectives were to determine the activities carried out by Members of County Assembly; assess their information needs; ascertain the information sources available and accessible to them; establish the extent to which the existing information sources met their needs; assess the challenges they encountered in accessing and using the information sources; and to recommend strategies to be used by the County government to provide information. The study was informed by Wilson‘s information seeking model. It applied case study approach as a research design and collected data through interviews from the 48 Members of County Assembly and nine key informants. Collected data were organized into themes based on the research objectives. The analyzed data were presented using frequency tables, charts and narratives. The findings showed that the Members of County Assembly were not adequately served with relevant information sources to assist them with information they required for their daily activities. They needed a range of information sources including government publications opinion leader's views, local radio stations, and contact with fellow members. The key challenges established in accessing and utilizing information included the MCAs inadequate awareness and competencies in the use of information and communications technologies to access the information sources and services, inadequate information sources and low publicity of the existing information sources. The study concluded that there were gaps in information provision for the members of county assembly which made their work difficult. It recommends that the county government establish a library or information centre within the assembly; provide support for access and utilization of information.; market the information sources through employing qualified information workers; enhance repackaging of information through improved Information Communication Technology use; and provide information literacy to the MCAs.