THE ROLE OF DEVOLUTION IN GOVERNANCE IN KENYA

Abstract

Devolution in Kenya has been touted as the greatest post-independence political thunderbolt to democracy. In many quarters, it has been seen as a panacea to many years of misgovernance and national values collapse since independence. The level of accountability and transparency among public institutions had long waned in Kenya, and citizens' aloofness to national programs, projects, and values was equally dented. This paper seeks to interrogate the influence of public participation on enhancing good governance in Kenya, to determine the influence of capacity building on governance in Kenya, to determine the influence of decentralized units on governance, to explain the influence of transparency and accountability on governance and finally to establish the influence of social equity on enhancing good governance in Kenya. The research espoused a mixed-method approach where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected at the same time using proven data collection methods. The study employed both primary and secondary sources of data to achieve the study's objectives. Secondary data was collected from existing scholarly literature, including journals and books, Economic Surveys, gazette articles, and other publications. Primary data was collected from the residents of Nairobi randomly selected within the county. Qualitative data was collected using focus group discussions, observations, and face-to-face interviews, while questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis, and quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS. The findings of the study reveal that devolution is a critical aspect of governance since it allows local governments to bring about efficient and sustainable development.