Factors influencing performance contracting on delivery of conservation projects in Lamu county, Kenya

Abstract

Kenya has faced myriad challenges in delivering quality projects that not only provide value for money but also efficient provision of intended services to the public. The purpose of this study therefore was to determine factors that influence performance contracting on delivery of public projects with consideration to conservation projects in Lamu County. The researcher was interested in determining how involvement of employees in performance contract formulation influences service delivery in public projects, whether management procedures and practices influence performance contracts in the delivery of services in public projects, how implementation of performance contract influence staff performance in delivery of public projects and finally to establish whether performance contract contributes to the achievement of customer demands from public projects. The study also sought to analyze the influence of government policy on implementation of performance contracts. This study consists of Five Chapters; Chapter one highlights the introduction and implementation of performance contracting in Kenya and other countries. It also brings out the problem at hand in that as much as performance contracting has been introduced in state corporations; its influence on delivery of public projects has not been established. Chapter two reviews studies that have been done with particular reference to Performance Contracting and project delivery, theories behind performance contracting and a highlight of mainstream strategies used in ensuring success in performance contracting. Chapter three provides detailed information on the procedures used in conducting the research. Chapter four gives data analysis, presentation and interpretation while chapter five provides summary of findings, discussions, conclusions and recommendations. Descriptive research design has been used on a population of 13 parastatals in Lamu County that are not only under performance contract but also implementing or have implemented public projects. Stratified random sampling was used in administering questionnaires to 26 heads of departments and 39 employees who are on performance contract for the year 2013/2014. Therefore, the ideal sample size of the research was 65 respondents. 50 questionnaires were returned giving an average response rate of 76.9% for all respondents. Out of the four variables studied, all agreed to the research hypotheses. The study found out that involvement of employees in performance contract formulation, management procedures and practices, influence of implementation of PC on staff performance and contribution of PC on customer demands had tremendous influence on delivery of conservation projects. The data collection instruments used in the research were semi structured and structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis and the findings presented in the form of frequency tables and percentages