Devolution And Service Delivery In The Public Service In Kenya, A Case Study Of Marsabit County Government

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of devolution on service delivery in the public service in Kenya. A case of Marsabit County. Materials and Methods: To achieve the objectives of the study primary data was collected through questionnaire administration. The data collected, tabulated and was analyzed using multivariate regression model with the aid of SPSS version 25 software. Mixed methods research is preferable for the study due to the provision of a better conception of a research issue or dilemma and that a solo research approach is inadequate. A mixed research approach is a research master plan that combines qualitative and quantitative research components to deal with research issues to enter into healthy research conclusions. The study used questionnaires for data collection from the staff members. The questionnaires were both open and close-ended questions. The close-ended questions provided more structured responses to facilitate tangible recommendations. Results: The findings of the study indicated that; 80% of the respondents stated that allocation of funds and approved for decision making were significant variables in determination of service delivery at Marsabit County government. The findings indicates that majority of respondents believed that the projects information are updated quarterly and semiannually, 20% weekly, 10% weekly while 6.67% others. The findings reveals that the updating time for information is more than three months, which risks the information accuracy. Majority (33.3%) of participants noted that the main advantage of accountability and transparency human resource is helping in offering exemplary service delivery, 25.0% enhances committed to and supporting the management in influencing the service delivery and 20% helps in coordinates and communicate well in implementation of services in the county The findings further indicate that 12% believed Marsabit County is not well staffed hence likely impacting on the quality-of-service delivery. Further Research: The study recommends further studies on influence of devolution of government service delivery on provision of healthcare in other health facilities of the same magnitude in other Counties. Given the fact that devolution is a new concept in Kenya, more study research should be carried out to evaluate the effect of devolution of government service delivery on healthcare staff motivation in provision of healthcare services.