Impact of Privatization on Service Delivery; an Assessment of the Kenya Railway Corporation Concession (2006-2012

Abstract

This research focused on the impact of Privatization on service delivery. More specifically, it assessed the Kenya Railway Corporation and Rift Valley Railway concession between years 2006 to 2012. The study was guided by three objectives namely; evaluating effects of privatization of quality of service delivery by KRC concession, secondly assessing the effects of privatization on KRC financial sustainability and lastly assessing the effects of privatization of KRC’s operational efficiency. In line with this, the study adopted the following assumptions; that privatization enhances the quality of service delivery, that concession leads to financial sustainability of KRC to reduce costs and reliance on the exchequer and concession improves operational efficiency of KRC/RVR concession. The study adopted a conceptual framework in interrogating issues for the study. This elaborated on the variables of the study on privatization to enhance of service delivery by appraising performance in quality of service delivery, improving financial sustainability performance and improving operational performance. The study was grounded on the new public management theory in running public affairs under which efficiency and accountability of service delivery was emphasized. The study used both primary and secondary data to enrich the study giving prominence to non-probability sampling technique in collection of data. The study major findings were that despite all requirements put in place, in terms of service charters, procedures and funding, the performance of KRC/RVR concession deliverables have not been adequately met as originally envisioned. There is continued reliance on the exchequer for liquidity and lack of new investments and maintenance among other issues. The quality of service delivery eroded and based on these findings the study recommends that a hybrid of public and private State Corporation to run such functions in a market model for efficiency and accountability purposes. There is need for regular and frequent auditing to ensure the concession is delivered as per the agreement.