Corporate Governance Practices and Implementation of Universal Healthcare Strategy in Machakos County-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 determining how corporate governance practices facilitated the implementation of universal health care strategy in Machakos County in Kenya. The study was premised on the Agency theory, the Upper Echelon theory and Stakeholder theory. A case study research design was adopted. The findings established that board structure, internal controls, transparency and risk management, had been adopted in the successful execution of UHS in Machakos County. The study established that the main challenges of implementing the UHS were lack of communication and corruption. To foster transparency, the study recommends that a clear line of communication at need to be established to ensure that information is disseminated to all the stakeholders and the beneficiary of the UHC in a timely way. The study recommends that employees at all levels should be trained on risk management practices particularly on the market risks. Lastly, the study recommends that the Board should consider automating its internal control systems to enable accuracy in the transactions and efficiency in the processes like procurement and communication.