Deputy President William Ruto has been selected to lead a global body despite facing many political hurdles back home owing to his dream of leading Kenya come 2022.
Kenya, which is represented by Ruto, is among the three administrations elected on the steering committee of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a global body with representation from 78 countries and a growing number of local Governments.
Together with Canada and Italy, Kenya will serve for a period of three years after winning an election that had four candidates including the UK.
The UK lost due to the election process which advocated for regional balance with Canada and Kenya landing automatic selection regardless of the results.
DP Ruto, in an address to the organization in January 2020, pledged to support implementation and political goodwill from the Kenyan Government.
“In line with our program on openness, His Excellency the President has signed an order to set up committees at the country, regional, and technical levels and the Committee of Cabinet that will assemble accurate, real-time information on the implementation of government projects and programs from every ward to the national level, so that citizens and civil society can have access on our government portal to accurate, up-to-date, real-time information so that government can be more open, and citizens and civil society can oversee our government programs,” he remarked at the time.
OGP CEO, Sanjay Pradhan, congratulated the three Governments on being elected to lead the global partnership.
“We warmly welcome these governments joining the Steering Committee at a time when democracy was already facing its greatest threat and now amidst the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic. The leadership role of our Steering Committee is critical to bringing together governments, civil society, and other stakeholders to ensure open and effective response and recovery that builds citizen trust and reinvigorates democracy post-COVID-19,” he stated.
Within the committee, Kenya’s role will be to develop, promote and safeguard the values, principles and interests of OGP.
The committee that will be led by the Government of Argentina, has been tasked with establishing the core ideas, policies, and rules of the partnership, and oversee its functioning.