Public Service Accountability and Governance in Kenya since Independence
Abstract
Bad governance is a major contributor to poor service delivery in Africa. In
Kenya, the level of accountability in the management of public affairs has
consistently declined since independence. This is in spite of various legal
instruments and watchdog institutions established to regulate and monitor
the ethical conduct of public officials.
This paper argues that the pattern of consolidation of power embarked
upon by Kenya's post-colonial rulers was a major underlying factor in the
deterioration of ethical standards in the public service. The construction of
patron-clientilist relations were quite pronounced in this regard. The same
goes for the deliberate manipulation of ethnicity. The paper concludes by
advocating the adoption of a number of measures in order to enhance
accountability in the public service of Kenya.
URI
http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/African%20Journals/pdfs/political%20science/volume8n1/ajps008001006.pdfhttp://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/38889
Citation
Afr. j. polit. sci. (2003), Vol 8 No. 1Publisher
Department of Political Science & Public Administration, University of Nairobi, Kenya.