Decentralization of Government Operations and Service Delivery Performance by County Governments in Kenya

Abstract

The objective of the study was to establish the relationship between decentralization of operations and the performance of county governments. It specifically looked at operations which have been decentralized, effect of decentralizing operations on the performance and constraints facing decentralization of operations in county governments. The study adopted an exploratory descriptive survey design which targeted three counties namely, Nyeri (agriculturally rich county), Nairobi (Industrial County) and Machakos (arid and semi-arid area). Stratified random sampling technique was used owing to the need of ensuring that all the 3 counties were independently sampled and represented. A sample size of 150 residents (50 from each county) was selected. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression models as an inferential analysis. The study established that agricultural sector was the most decentralized followed by transport sector, health and education sector. There was an overlap of role of national government and county government in delivery of service in some functions and this has led to conflict in service delivery which has affected performance of county government. There was lack of resources for service delivery that match level of decentralized functions. It was concluded that there is a positive relationship between decentralization of operations and performance of county governments. Based on the finding, the study recommended that county governments should adopt decentralization as a policy to improve on the performance of the county government.