OpenDatapxLack of legislation compelling government bodies to release data to the public is holding back the successful rollout of the open data initiative. The project, which was launched by President Mwai Kibaki in July last year, is based on provisions of the Constitution that every citizen has the right of access to information held by the State.

The Constitution requires the government to publish and publicise any important information affecting the nation.

The open data initiative aims to make this possible by having a central portal where the public can access this information.

But 16 months down the line, the initiative that would have put Kenya among the first developing countries to avail government information freely to its citizens in a single portal, has hit a snag. (Read: Kenya open data initiative has hit a dead end, says PS)

This is due to low supply of data from government bodies, leaving it with old and obsolete data sets.

“Lack of the Freedom of Information Act means that we cannot take any action on government bodies that refuse to release data or refuse to respond. We are hoping that this will change very soon as the Bill is in discussion stage,” said Kenya Open Data project coordinator, ICT Board, Ms Linet Kwamboka said.

She said some public organisations were suffering from a data-hugging syndrome, declining to make data public even when they know it rightfully belongs to the public for fear that it will be used against them.