| dc.description.abstract | Kenyans endorsed a new constitution in 2010 which established devolution through county
governments. Despite the hopes of better governance and service delivery to citizens, Kenya has
experienced difficulties ranging from audit reports indicating financial mismanagement,
supremacy battles between Parliament, Senate and Governors, to Governors being impeached
and citizens in Murang’a taking to the streets against their County Governments. Consequently,
this study sought to establish the factors influencing satisfaction with service delivery within
Murang’a County under the era of devolution. The objectives of the study included: to establish
the extent to the level accountability of county leaders affects satisfaction with service deliver, to
investigate how financial decentralization affects satisfaction with service delivery, to determine
how public participation in decision making affects satisfaction with service delivery; and to
examine the extent to which inter-governmental relations affect satisfaction with service
delivery. Literature studied revealed that in most developing countries quality of public service
remained the same or unchanged after devolution. A descriptive survey research design was
used. Purposive sampling was done in order to select opinion leaders in the eight sub-counties
within Murang’a County. Questionnaires and interviews were used as instruments of data
collection, which were validated prior to actual data collection by close consultation with
experts. Opinion leaders of a ward that was not included in the study were used for pilot testing
to determine the instruments reliability. Raw data was systematically organized, coded and
analysed through descriptive statistics using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS), and
finally presented using percentages and frequency distribution tables. The research findings
showed that county leaders’ accountability had great influence on services delivered as they were
not accessible to citizens as expected. The study also found that financial rate of flow and timely
transfers greatly influenced County service delivery. Citizen participation in meetings and their
gender representation were great influencers of County service delivery. The study recommends
an increase in public meetings to enhance accountability, gender balance in citizen participation
in County decisions and civic education.Both levels of Governments should strive to enhance
predictability of funds so that funds are adequate for service delivery as well as establishan intergovermental
technical committee and secretariat to reduce disputes. Structures and systems for
service delivery should be developed by both tiers of government and state organs for
satisfactory service delivery. | en_US |
