Nairobi County Assembly to introduce live proceedings, paperless services
Digital reforms expected to cut printing costs, improve public access and enable residents to interact with MCAs in near real time
By Adieri Mulaa
The Nairobi City County Assembly is preparing to introduce live broadcasts of plenary proceedings and paperless digital services aimed at improving transparency, efficiency and public participation.
Assembly Clerk Edward Gichana said the ongoing digitisation programme would allow Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) to access documents and conduct House business electronically while enabling Nairobi residents to follow proceedings and engage with their representatives almost in real time.
“We are digitising the institution and we will soon be going live in the chambers, where we will not use papers,” Gichana said during a media training workshop for communication officers in Mombasa.
He said the initiative would reduce expenditure on printing and stationery while easing administrative workloads.
Gichana added that Nairobi, being the country’s largest county assembly, was seeking to establish standards that other county legislatures could emulate.
The planned reforms follow the example of the National Assembly and Senate, which have established platforms for public access to parliamentary proceedings.
The Clerk also underscored the importance of effective communication in legislative operations, urging media practitioners to work closely with the Assembly administration to improve information dissemination and public engagement.
He credited consultations between the Assembly and the media with helping the institution address challenges experienced since the advent of devolution in 2013.
Deputy Clerk Pauline Akuku said the Assembly was reviewing its performance during the Third Assembly, whose term began in 2022, while preparing for the transition to the Fourth Assembly.
She noted that the growing influence of social media and artificial intelligence (AI) was changing communication practices and would increasingly affect the Assembly’s daily operations.
Workshop facilitator Awino Gilbert urged communication officers and journalists to embrace AI and understand how algorithms could improve their work.
However, participants cautioned against relying excessively on AI to prepare Hansard records and reports from legislative activities, including public participation forums.
They warned that without careful human review and editing, AI-generated reports could compromise accuracy and distort the original meaning of proceedings.
Akuku acknowledged the challenges, saying institutions needed to adapt responsibly to emerging technologies.
Gichana urged journalists covering the Assembly to raise professional concerns directly with the administration, promising continued engagement to improve working relations and strengthen public communication.
