PARLIAMENT AND THE MEDIA IN THE APRM PROCESS

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PARLIAMENT AND THE MEDIA IN THE APRM PROCESS

• Jerry Okungu
• Okuthe-Okungu Associates,
• P O Box 2854-00100, Nairobi, Kenya

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A PARLIAMENTARIAN AND A JOURNALIST , ALOT IN
COMMON

• AN MP

• A JOURNALIST

• Fights for the Common Man
• Makes News
• Deals with Policy Issues
• Government Watch Dog
• Highly Egoistic
• Doesnt have a lot of time
• Prefers precise information

• Fights for the Common Man
• Manufactures News
• Analyses Policy Issues
• Public Watch Dog
• Highly Egoistic
• Doesnt have a lot of time
• Prefers precise information

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WHY DOES THE APRM NEED THESE TWO INSTITUTIONS?

• They are influential
• They are believable by the public
• They have the power to influence government
  decisions and policy
• If they are against an initiative like the APRM
  or NEPAD, they have the power to kill it
• They can force the government to finance or not
  finance the APRM process

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WHAT DO THEY NEED TO KNOW IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THE
APRM?

• They need to understand their relationship with
  the Four Pillars of the APRM
• They need to know that the Four Pillars are not
  new inventions but the same issues they have been
  fighting for, for years
• They need to know that when they are talking of
  Democracy, clean politics, human rights issues
  and the rule of law, they are talking APRM
• They need to relate Judiciary and Parliamentary
  Independence to the APRM process

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SERVICE DELIVERY

• They need to know that when they advocate for
  better healthcare, clean water, working transport
  system, sanitation, housing, education, food
  security and safety in our society, they are
  talking APRM
• They should know that when they are talking of
  poverty reduction, wealth creation or job
  opportunities, they are talking APRM

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CAN MPS DOMESTICATE APRM THROUGH AN ACT OF
PARLIAMENT?

• To give the Process autonomy and teeth as a self
  assessment tool respected by the State
• To remove it from being a government department
  and make it all embracing( State and Non- State
  Actors)
• To give the APRM statutory powers such that its
  reports and NPoAs can be implemented by both
  State and Non- State actors in a structured
  process

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THE REQUIRED LEADERSHIP OF THE APRM

• Charismatic and Visionary
• Influential
• Salesmanship
• Belief in real change for Africa rather than just
  another job!
• Journalists, like MPs will always follow
  visionary and charismatic leadership

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CAN MPS AND JOURNALISTS SERVE IN THE APRM NGCS?

• MPs at Chief Whip or Party PG in the NGC
• Editors at Management level in NG Council
• Media Owners at CEO level in the NG Council

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SOME EXAMPLES

• The Nyongo and Machel factors in the Kenyan
  situation
• The Rosario factor in the Mozambican situation
• The Mbeki factor in the South African Situation
• The Kagame Factor in the Rwanda Situation
• When top political leadership buys into the APRM,
  Parliamentarians, journalists and the public are
  likely to fall in line
• When they do, the APRM will become part of our
  national and continental culture

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THANK YOU!Jerry Okungu.