Influence of Corporate Governance on Service Delivery: a Case Study of the National Cereals and Produce Board, Kenya

Abstract

Service delivery in public institutions has been under focus in recent years. Most public institutions in the world have been under scrutiny for failing to deliver services to the satisfaction of the citizens. Consequently, there has been a growing demand for public institutions to comply with corporate governance practices. This study, therefore, was aimed at evaluating the effect of corporate governance on service delivery; case study of the National Cereals and Produce Board in Kenya. The specific objectives were; to determine the influence of internal controls on service delivery, to evaluate the effect of transparency on service delivery, and to establish the influence of risk assessment on service delivery. The study covered a period of five years which is the year 2015 to 2019 according to the National Cereals and Produce Board strategic plan period. There are various branches in Kenya but the study was limited to the Head office since they have consolidated information that covers all branches in the country. The study was premised on the stakeholder theory and the agency theory. A case study research design was used. The population of the study was 307 comprising the top managers, partners, and employees of the Board. The sample size was 154. The test for reliability and validity was done the results for reliability using Cronbach’s coefficient was 0.870. data collection was done using the questionnaires mainly targeting the employees and partners while interview guides were administered to top managers to get in-depth information on the subject matter. Consequently, the rate of response was 60% for the questionnaires and 75% for the interviews. The outcome indicated that internal controls, transparency and risk assessment, had a significant and positive effects on service delivery since the p values were 0.005, 0.000, and 0.002 respectively. To foster transparency, the study recommends that a clear line of communication at the NCPB need to be established to ensure that information is disseminated to all the stakeholders in a timely way. The study also recommends that mechanism towards preventing the conflict of interest be put in place for instance proper disclosure of the owners of the companies and businesses that supplies grain to the Board. Whistle-blowing mechanisms also need to be enhanced to prevent fraud and corrupt practices. The study recommends that employees at all levels should be trained on risk management practices particularly on the market risks. The Board should also develop a comprehensive mechanism for the identification of traders who are likely to pose a potential risk to the organization in terms of illegal traders. Further, in liaison with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Board should come up with a limit as to how much a single trader can supply to prevent illegal traders and prevent the exploitation of small farmers. Lastly, the study recommends that the Board should consider automatic its internal control systems to enable accuracy in the transactions and efficiency in the processes like procurement.