Royal Media Services CEO SK Macharia.
Kenya's electoral system was, once again, put under intense scrutiny when businessman Samuel Kamau (SK) Macharia publicly revealed that five-time presidential poll loser, Raila Odinga, has been a victim of voter register manipulation at least four times.
SK Macharia, who is the founder and Chairman of the Royal Media Services (RMS), stunned the nation when he revealed during his brother's funeral last Saturday that leveraging RMS's elaborate network across the country, the media house was able to gather accurate voter data from all the polling stations countrywide.
The tycoon singled out the 2007 presidential poll that pitted the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, against the sitting President Mwai Kibaki. In that election, SK Macharia averred, the voter data showed that Raila Odinga defeated Mwai Kibaki by at least 1.8 million votes.
Raila's win was, however, allegedly reversed after all the Returning Officers from the Mount Kenya region were rounded up and forced to "top up" the results to give Mwai Kibaki a win. There were spontaneous uprisings by citizens across the country that led to more than 1000 deaths and over 600,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).
According to Macharia, similar transgressions were evident in subsequent elections. The media tycoon identified the main culprit in the manipulations as lack of integrity in the voter register. A poorly maintained voters' roll makes it possible for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the body that is constitutionally mandated to manage elections, to tamper with the final results of an electoral process.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Whether or not the specific allegations are true is not the concern of this article. All that is now water under the bridge. The realisation that our electoral processes are susceptible to manipulation should, however, precipitate a bigger conversation among Kenyans regarding the integrity of the country's vital data that is used for socio-economic decision-making. With doubts being cast on voter data, there is every fear that the country's population data may also have been manipulated to justify the voter registration patterns and electoral outcomes.
Short-term benefits
While politicians may only be interested in the short-term benefits of winning an election using a manipulated voter register, the country suffers dire consequences of making long-term socio-economic decisions based on flawed data. At the very least, population data is used for decisions on resource allocation, which has a huge impact on the welfare of citizens.
Effective governance requires that decisions be made using accurate data about pertinent demographic dynamics. To make accurate decisions, the government should be able to know all socio-economic aspects of its citizens both as individuals as well as in their collectivity as a nation. Hence, there is a need for a "single view" of a citizen. The concept of a "single view" or "360-degree view" of a citizen provides a comprehensive and precise understanding of the socio-economic health of a country. This approach entails gathering data from various aspects of citizens' socio-economic activities, creating a centralised database with accurate information, and ensuring that the government has a clear and complete picture of its people, both socially and economically. Accurate data provides the latitude for policymakers to generate more intelligent data-driven decisions that are both effective and certain. Such decisions benefit the country in several ways.
Socially, a single view of a citizen enables the State to better appreciate the idiosyncrasies of its people in more nuanced and intricate ways, including their cultures, belief systems, passions, and values based on real data rather than assumptions. A precise and accurate understanding of citizens' characteristics, backed by empirical data, allows the government to embrace and support diversity, and to make decisions that take into consideration the unique cultures and demographics of the citizens.
For example, by collecting data on factors such as tribe, geography, religion, or weather patterns, the government can address the most pressing needs of its people. Additionally, such information can be used to guide social policies, ensuring that the needs of various communities are met in a way that respects their unique characteristics and traditions.
Inclusivity
Data-driven approach also fosters inclusivity, and helps to forestall bias. Ultimately, this leads to policies that truly reflect the society's values improving social cohesion. Such an approach is particularly crucial in fledgling democracies such as Kenya where perceptions of biases based on tribal affiliations are still rife.
From an economic perspective, having a 360-degree view of a citizen enables the government to track factors about an individual’s economic status, such as, employment, assets, family ties, economic activities, and financial transactions, among others, all of which are critical in decision making. By analysing this data and information, the government can ensure more effective and efficient distribution of resources and services.
For instance, knowing the economic activity and needs of citizens at various stages of life allows for better social services delivery, targeted economic policies, and more accurate tax collection. Governments can identify patterns or disparities and ensure that resources are allocated where they are most needed. Kenya's tax administration has been accused of perennial mis-classification and mis-targeting of taxpayers, phenomena that have led to sub-optimal revenue yields, and over-burdening of compliant taxpayers, while leaving large numbers of income earners to go scot-free.
A polling clerk uses a Kiems kit to identify a voter.
Moreover, with access to accurate data, the government can enhance the administration of social security, pensions, healthcare, and other forms of welfare, ensuring these services are directed toward citizens who need them most. This will not only improve the well-being of individuals but will also lead to fairer revenue collection, as citizens' economic contributions are accurately reflected in the data.
Ultimately, the economic view enables governments to make smarter and targeted investment decisions in the productive sectors that have a direct bearing on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and citizens' wellbeing. Having access to precise data and information on citizens' education, income, employment, and economic affiliations helps the government to forecast their future needs, and to plan appropriately for sustainable growth.
By combining both the social and economic views into a unified, 360-degree perspective of citizens, the government can be empowered to make better decisions, anticipate challenges, and address inequalities more effectively. Such data-driven insights offer a roadmap for more inclusive, responsive governance, and ensure that policies align with the real needs of the population. The result is shared prosperity and the sustainable tranquillity of the nation. In essence, a comprehensive understanding of citizens through this holistic view fosters a well-functioning society and a healthier, more robust economy.
SK Macharia may have intended to demonstrate the country's political failures and the need for introspection, but he ended up drawing the attention of Kenyans to more fundamental issues affecting their wellbeing as a nation. There is a huge socio-economic potential in determining and maintaining accurate demographic data and information for decision-making. Attempts have been made by the government to consolidate all citizens' data under one number, dubbed huduma number. Unfortunately, such attempts have met fierce resistance from politicians, religious leaders and citizens largely due to misinformation and selfish reasons. In view of the potential benefits of 360-degree view of citizens, there is every reason for the government to not relent in its pursuit of data consolidation to engender a culture of intelligent data-driven decision-making.
Once Kenya achieves a clean-data status, and a culture of probity is embraced, the country will embark on the path of good governance and electoral integrity. It makes no sense for Kenya to waste colossal amounts of money to acquire electoral management systems if the country has no intentions of ensuring electoral integrity.
Digitisation cannot solve Kenya's electoral problems until a decision is made to ensure integrity in the processes. The base of all systems needs to be foolproof to close all the loopholes that facilitate data leakages. Any system that is built to fail will always fail.
Professor Ongore is a Public Finance and Corporate Governance Scholar based at the Technical University of Kenya.
