Transparency Practices and Service Delivery in County Governments in Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47604/ijlg.3934Keywords:
Transparency, Service Delivery, Devolution, County Governments, GovernanceAbstract
Purpose: This study examined the influence of transparency practices on service delivery in county governments in Kenya, addressing the gap in empirical evidence on how open governance shapes public service outcomes under devolution.
Methodology: Guided by Information Transparency Theory and Principal-Agent Theory and grounded in a pragmatist philosophy, a cross-sectional descriptive design targeted County Executive Committee Members, Members of County Assemblies, and Chairpersons of County Public Service Boards across Kenya's 47 counties. A sample of 310 respondents was drawn through stratified random sampling, with 296 usable questionnaires returned (95.5%). Data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using Pearson correlation and simple linear regression, complemented by thematic analysis of open-ended responses.
Findings: Transparency had a strong, positive, and significant relationship with service delivery (r = 0.696, p < 0.001), explaining 48.5% of its variance (R² = 0.485, F = 276.554, p < 0.001; B = 0.697, p < 0.001), and the null hypothesis was rejected. Thematic analysis identified access to information, digitalization, public engagement, oversight, and citizen feedback as dominant transparency dimensions.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study integrates Information Transparency Theory with Principal-Agent Theory in Kenya's devolved context, provides county governments with empirical justification for investing in timely digital disclosure and open-procurement platforms, and informs policy on institutionalizing accessible citizen feedback and oversight mechanisms.
Downloads
References
Androniceanu, A. (2021). Transparency in public administration as a challenge for a good democratic governance. Revista Administratie si Management Public, Faculty of Administration and Public Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, 2021(36), 149–164.
Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2006). Business research methods (Vol. 1). Tata McGraw-Hill.
County Governments Act, No. 17 of 2012 (Kenya).
D'Arcy, M., & Cornell, A. (2016). Devolution and corruption in Kenya: Everyone's turn to eat? African Affairs, 115(459), 246–273.
Fung, A., Graham, M., & Weil, D. (2007). Full disclosure: The perils and promise of transparency. Cambridge University Press.
Jensen, M. C., & Meckling, W. H. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4), 305-360. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(76)90026-X
Constitution of Kenya (2010).
Kessy, A. T. (2020). Transparency in local government finance and service delivery: The case of Mwanza City and Moshi District Councils in Tanzania. Inkanyiso, 12(2), 194–211.
Kiambati, K. K. (2020). The levels of transparency and county service delivery in Kenya. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 9(3), 14–25.
Kirimi, E., & Kipkorir, P. (2024). Strengthening citizen-centred public service in Kenya through Huduma Centres. Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.
Likangaga, R., Kumburu, N. P., & Panga, F. (2022). Transparency in local government health and education service delivery in Dodoma, Tanzania. East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 9(1), 97–122.
Mwangi, J. W., Naituli, G., Kilika, J., & Muna, W. (2023). Fiscal decentralisation and public service delivery: Evidence and lessons from sub-national governments in Kenya. Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance.
Momanyi, W., & Mugambi, F. (2024). Empowering county public service through capacity building. Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.
Njuguna, K. K., Omare, M., & Bowen, J. C. (2024). Effect of service level management on customer satisfaction in the County Government of Nakuru. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 11(4), 1201-1213.
Pratt, J. W., & Zeckhauser, R. J. (1985). Principals and agents: An overview. In J. W. Pratt & R. J. Zeckhauser (Eds.), Principals and agents: The structure of business (pp. 1-25). Harvard Business School Press.
Sabani, A. (2020). Investigating the influence of transparency on the adoption of e-Government in Indonesia. Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management.
Setia, M. S. (2016). Methodology series module 3: Cross-sectional studies. Indian Journal of Dermatology, 61(3), 261–264.
Transparency International. (2023, August 24). Kenya's devolution dream: 13 years on and the quest for true empowerment. Transparency International Kenya.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Martha Kagendo Gitonga, Jared Deya, Mary Kamara, Emmanuel Awuor
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
