Strategic Management at Kenya Rural Roads Authority

Abstract

Kenya Rural Roads Authority is a State Corporation whose mandate is to offer guidance in the construction, maintenance and management of the rural road network in the country. This study sought to investigate strategic management adopted by KeRRA.The objective of the study were to determine the extent to which KeRRA had employed strategic management and to establish the challenges faced by KeRRA in strategic management. The study adopted a case study. Data collection was done through interview guide. The respondents of the study were the Director General, Three General Managers, Ten Managers and Ten Road superintendents and six other senior officers in the Authority. The content analysis technique was used to analyze data collected. The study revealed that KeRRA had adopted strategic management and engaged senior managers as strategic management leaders, training of staff to acquire more expertise in their area of specialization, rural road authority’s employees taking ownership and responsibility for their work. The study concluded that enhanced private public partnership, provision of a framework for managing the citizen side of change, improved disbursement of funds, developing skills and knowledge to support the change, division in function and structures, recruitment of high qualified personnel, road reforms, increase in the funding of road sector and incorporation of other stakeholders in the daily operations have led to enhanced service delivery. The study concluded that KeRRA faces challenges such as staff degree of resistance, resource insufficiency, political interference, lack of trust in the change by employees and inadequate information technology. The study recommends that government parastatals should adopt strategic management so as to formulate reforms, enhance management of authorities and policies into action through the development of specific budgets and procedure