Influence of Public Participation on Budget Implementation by Kenyan City Counties

Abstract

The objective of the study was to examine the influence of public participation on budget implementation by Kenyan city counties. The study was based on resource-based theory and stakeholder theory of management.. In addition, the study relied on an ex-post-facto descriptive research design with a survey method to determine the relationships between the dependent and independent variables. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data which was then cleaned, coded and scrutinized thoroughly for completeness. Secondary data was also obtained from the County Integrated Development Plans and financial reports for each of the studied city counties. The researcher collected primary data from the treasuries, directorates of economic planning, budget offices, IFMIS departments and sectoral departments of Nairobi city county, Mombasa city county and Kisumu city county respectively. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. Statistical measures such as means, percentages and standard deviation were used to interpret the data. The researcher also performed both a linear regression analysis and a Spearman correlation analysis to show the relationships between the study variables and the findings presented in tables. The study revealed strong positive and statistically significant correlation between public participation with budget implementation indicating that budget implementation was significantly influenced by active public participation in the entire budget execution process. However, the study established the need for more members of the public to participate more actively in budget making and execution. The results of the study were considered pivotal to the national government, the legislature, national treasury, county governments and respective sectoral departments, the Commission for Revenue Allocation, the office of the controller of budget, the public, budget implementation oversight agencies and county chiefs as it highlights important correlates of effective budget execution.