Challenges of budget implementation in local authorities in Kenya: (a case study of Municipal Council of Thika)

Abstract

The budget is a standard against which the actual performance can be compared and measured. Budgets are used to communicate top management's expectations to managers and employees. The budgets process provides for coordinated planning among different functional areas. The study investigates the challenges in budget implementation in local authorities in Kenya with focus on the municipal council of Thika.

To determine if budgets are fully implemented in local authorities in Kenya and give recommendations based on the finding of the study. The target respondent was 50 employees in managerial positions spread across the entire departments. Data collection instrument was the questionnaire distributed to the respondents. The data provided information that formed the basis for discussions and interpretation of the results. Content analysis was used to analysis the respondent's view about the challenges of budget implementation, the data was coded to enable the responses to be grouped into categories.

Finally descriptive statistics was used to mainly to summarize the data, this included percentages and frequencies. The finding lead to call for more stringent budget management practices in the sector, there is needed to utilize different expertise in preparation monitoring and evaluation. The Kenya government also need to move fast to enact stringent anti- corruption laws to help control the national culture of corruption.