A Study on Public Opinion of Service Delivery by County Government: Case Study of Garissa County

Abstract

The Constitution of Kenya 2010 and devolution legal framework enacted by parliament place a strong foundation on public participation, transparency and accountability as means to promote the efficiency, accountability, equity and inclusiveness of government and service delivery. it commits both level of governments to implement that constitutional requirement.

Contrary to the aspirations of the public that devolution will improve service delivery, county governments have faced numerous challenges such us inadequate citizen participation, capacity constraints, corruption, tribalism, lack of adequate funds undermine the expected performance and gains from devolution. Therefore, the objectives of the study include; to evaluate the level of awareness of public on existence of county government, to establish the extent at which the public seek service from county government, to estimate rate of performance of the county government since its inception, to compare the public perception about service delivery before and after devolution. To examine the challenges faced by county government in service delivery, to explore the major areas that need improvement in county level operations, to analysis the extent at which county government has improved the lives of people and to determine the support of the public on the constitutional amendment to reduce the number of counties.

 The research findings show that 97% of the public understand the existence of county government out this more than half sought service from county government.  It also found that 50% of the respondent believes that service delivery to the public is better after devolution and rate its performance as average. The findings also show that corruption, employment of unqualified staff and nepotism/clannism are major factors affecting service delivery that required urgent solution. More than half of respondents disagree that the devolution has improved their lives hence 50% support constitutional amendment to reduce the number of county government. In conclusion, the county government should address the challenges and implement the recommendations to enhance service delivery.