MEDIA ACCESS TO BUDGET INFORMATION: THE CASE OF NAIROBI COUNTY GOVERNMENT

ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to assess the state of media access to budget information from public institutions with special focus on the Nairobi County government. The information was on resource allocation, implementation and evaluation of how the resources were utilised. The specific objectives of the study were to identify data available to journalists on budgeting by the Nairobi County Government, to investigate the techniques used by journalists to interpret budget information and to find out if journalists utilise their constitutional right of information access to gather budget information. The study was guided by the Social Responsibility and Libertarian theories. This study adopted in-depth interviews with seven reporters and six business editors. Data was collected from broadcast and print reporters and business editors from five local media houses: Nation Media Group, Standard Media Group, KBC, Mediamax and Radio Africa Group. Key Informant Interviews undertaken with reporters assigned to Nairobi County government revealed that media access 80 percent of budget information from the county, but the missing 20 percent is the most crucial. The Finance Bill for 2018/19 financial year is one example cited by majority of the journalists interviewed. It took more than two months before journalists were given access to the document, yet journalists work on tight schedules. The study found that the county uses delaying tactics to deny journalists access to information that it has special interest with. The study also revealed that budget information is presented in financial jargon thus limiting journalists’ ability to interpret it for the audience. Further findings indicate that all journalists interviewed were aware of their constitutional right of access to information and utilise it to gather budget information. However, majority pointed out that the law is not working as expected therefore limiting their accessibility to crucial budget information. The study recommends that: the county government of Nairobi should make the process of accessing information easier by digitising all information in a timely manner; there should be constant trainings for journalists to equip them with requisite skills to organise and analyse massive amounts of data; Media itself ought to be transparent about its revenue and spending so that it attains the moral authority to hold the government accountable; media companies should invest in professionalisation and be willing to follow up with lawsuits in case the system needs to be forced to give the information requested.