Influence of Devolution on Public Service Delivery: a Case Study of Museums Management in Kenya

Abstract

The study sought to investigate the factors that have influenced public service delivery in the management of museums in Kenya in spite of the devolution. Specific objectives were to; establish how the transfer of administrative responsibilities has influenced the effectiveness of public service delivery by the museums in Kenya; assess how the influence of political goodwill has influenced the accessibility of services offered by the museums in Kenya; examine the transfer of fiscal responsibilities has influenced the cost of service delivery offered by museums in Kenya and analyze the challenges affecting the devolution process in the delivery of services by the museums in Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional design and utilized mixed-methods. The target population comprised County Staff (both middle level and Senior), MCAs (Members of the County Assembly, National Museums of Kenya staff (both middle level and senior) and experts in heritage management. A sample size of 113 respondents was considered. Data was collected using structured interviews as well as a rating Likert Scale questionnaire. Data was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics where results from quantitative data were reported using percentages and presented in tables and charts. The study established that the transfer of administrative, political and fiscal responsibilities in the management of museums in Kenya has a direct influence on the provision of service delivery. The study provides evidence that availing capacity, requisite skills, adequate resource allocation, placing emphasis on research, human resource training and community outreach programmes with focus on educational programmes enhances the capacity of local museum personnel through delegation of vital institutional roles which positively impacts on the effectiveness, accessibility and the cost of service delivery offered by museums in Kenya. Challenges of devolution range from corruption at the county level, leadership wrangles and overlap of roles between the Executive and the County Assembly and between the National and County Government respectively. The study concluded that while devolution is still in its early stages of implementation at the Counties, there is need to strengthen the relationship between the National and County Governments; develop good heritage management policies and Acts through clear legal and policy frameworks and introduce stringent measures to curb the rampant cases of corruption and embezzlement of public resources. Further areas of research focused on the need to analyze the existing structural and technical capacity of County Governments and their effect on the service delivery; explore the extent to which the unbundling of the assets has affected service delivery and investigate the role of Inter-xiii

Governmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) in resolving conflicts arising between the National and County Governments and its effect on provision of services.