Performance Measurement of Constituency Development Funds (Cdf) Committees in Nairobi

Abstract

At the core of any performance, there will be those traditional, financially-based measures which periodically summarize the organizations or committee’s performance for the benefit of shareholders, lenders, and statutory authorities. (Hayes and Abernathy, 1980). The objective of the study was to investigate the extent of application of performance measurements by Constituency Development Fund committee(s) (CDF) in Nairobi. A sample size of one representative from each constituency was used to ensure a fair distribution of views obtained on performance of Nairobi CDF committees. In order to establish the performance indicators of CDF in Nairobi province, self-administered drop and pick questionnaires was distributed among sampled CDF committee members from the eight constituencies. Before processing the responses, the completed questionnaires were edited for completeness and consistency. Content analysis was used to analyze the respondents’ views about the performance measurement and evaluation. The study concludes that the Constituency Development Fund committee(s) (CDF) in Nairobi had applied various performance measurements. This was evident as most of the CDF committees employed long term performance measures and in addition others also made use of short term performance measures. These included economy, efficiency, effectiveness and balance score card. The study also concludes that the Constituency Development Fund committee(s) (CDF) in Nairobi were faced by various challenges in relation to performance management and a balance score card and these included difficulty in definition of what the organization produced and difficulty to set targets or to make decisions based on the measurement results, because some of the stakeholders had conflicting objectives.The study recommends that performance management should be applied to each Constituency Development Fund committee as it leads to the realization that to be successful in the long-term then, performance measures are required. The study also recommends that for the CDF committees to overcome performance challenges, they need to adopt and implement performance management systems to evaluate and manage the knowledge and intangible resources