Role of Inter-Governmental Relations on Service Delivery in Multi-Level Systems of Governance in Counties in Kenya

Abstract

Inter-governmental relations are critical for the effective and efficient service delivery by governments, as an important component of any political system with more than one level of government. The general objective of the study was to examine the role of inter-governmental relations on service delivery in multi-level systems of governance in counties in Kenya. The study pursued the following specific objectives; to establish the role of administrative relations, fiscal relations, political relations and economic relations on service delivery in multi-level systems of governance in counties in Kenya; and to establish the moderating effect of public participation on the relationship between intergovernmental relations and service delivery in multi-level systems of governance in counties in Kenya. The contextual scope of this study was limited to the 47 county governments in Kenya. The target population of the study was the 2,061 county government officials from all the 47 counties in Kenya who included the governors, deputy governors, county secretaries, ward administrators and county executive members; and 2,057 officials from the national government side, who included the county commissioners, deputy county commissioners, assistant county commissioners, and chiefs. The study population brought out intergovernmental relations aspects as it comprised of the two levels of government; national and county governments officials. The study sample was 384 respondents which used multiphase sampling technique to select the subjects of study. Both stratified random sampling technique and simple random sampling techniques were adopted to get the sample of counties and county government officials to be included in the study. The questionnaire was pilot tested for validity and reliability. Qualitative data was analyzed by use of content analysis. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential analysis. The study used bivariate regression analysis and moderated multiple regressions to analyse the association between inter-governmental relations dimensions, public participation and service delivery variables. The data was presented using tables and figures. Results revealed that all the inter-governmental relations had a positive and significant relationship with service delivery of county governments in Kenya. However, the magnitude of the influence was different for the specific inter-governmental relations. Fiscal relations had the largest effect followed by economic relations then political relations and finally the administrative relations. Further, the results showed that public participation had a positive and significant moderating effect on the relationship between inter-governmental relations and service delivery of counties in Kenya. The study concluded that inter-governmental relations had the potential of positively influencing service delivery in terms of timely and quality delivery, improved infrastructure, income and debt management and citizen service satisfaction. The results support the current theories related to the study. Consequently, this study provides national and county governments with insights of how to improve service delivery through the implementation of inter-governmental relations. The study recommended that national and county governments should adopt a multidimensional approach in implementing inter-governmental relations (administrative, economic, political and fiscal relations).