KCA Guidebook on Reporting Devolution 2018

This guidebook is an important contribution to the media industry and to other
stakeholders involved in the implementation of devolution. This revised guidebook endeavors to respond to the gaps and experiences of
journalists in reporting devolution and the changes which have occurred within
the first five years since the devolved system of governance was introduced
in 2013. The revision has benefited from input of a broad range of journalists,
editors, Media Council of Kenya, other media stakeholders and key organizations
and agencies involved in and with interest in devolution.
This revised edition is expected to help journalists report devolution from a
fairly more informed perspective, as it incorporates their own experiences, the
challenges that have been identified within the devolution framework and the
role of the various agencies. It also presents the structure and functions of county
governments and the institutions/ agencies that have a role in making devolution
work.
The guidebook is divided into thematic sections, which include: The Role of
Media in Development and Democratization, The Constitution and Devolution,
Policy Legal Framework for Media Operations, County Government Structures
and Functions, and Public Participation: Opportunities, Challenges and Lessons
Learned. It is presented in an easy to read format that should help journalists
understand how devolution works and spur them into generating well researched
stories.
It is hoped the guidebook will help journalists generate appropriate media
content that will inspire more informed public discourse and citizen participation
in devolution, and influence County Governments and national policy makers into
making devolution realize its transformative promise on the social, economic and
political lives of Kenyans as envisaged in the Constitution.
The first edition of the guidebook was developed and published in 2013 with
the kind assistance of USAID through the Kenya Transition Initiative (KTI),
which supported KCA to implement a project on enhancing the capacity of
correspondents to report on devolution at its infancy.
This second edition has been revised and printed with the support of USAID
through Agile Harmonized Assistance for Devolved Institutions (AHADI). It
represents an important step towards enhancing the capacity of the media to
engage with, understand and report on devolution in a much more effective
manner than before.
This publication is a guide and should by no means limit journalists from seeking
and utilizing information from other available materials and resources on
devolution, some of which are listed as part of the references in this book.
William Oloo Janak
Chairman, Kenya Correspondents Association