Effects of Candidate Selection on Service Delivery in County Governments in Kenya: A Case of Kericho County, Kenya

Abstract

Devolved governance was supposed to bring services to the local level and raise the living standards of Kenyans. The objectives of devolution are outlined in Chapter 11 Article 174 of the Kenyan Constitution, which include recognizing Kenya's diversity, fostering national unity, ensuring democracy and transparency, fostering economic and social growth, and finally equitable resource allocation. However, this has not been accomplished because Kenya's county governments are characterized by poor planning, mismanagement and misappropriation of funds, and inefficient and ineffective service delivery. This study sought to examine effects of candidate selection on service delivery in County Government of Kericho. The study used descriptive research design. The study population consisted of 2,984 Kericho County Government Employees. Purposive sampling was employed to choose 139 staff in 13 departments in County Government of Kericho. The researcher utilized primary and secondary data. Semi-structured questionnaires were deployed to obtain primary data. Moreover, to enhance and test reliability and validity of selected research tools, pilot test was done. Thematic analysis was utilized to help analyse all qualitative research data, then results were displayed inform of a narrative. Additionally, inferential, and also descriptive statistics was utilized to analyse quantitative research data with the help of SPSS. Moreover, descriptive statistics composed of frequency distribution, percentages, mean and standard deviation. Additionally, inferential statistics included correlation as well as regression analysis. Tables were used to present the results. The study found that candidate selection has a significant positive influence on the service delivery in Kericho County Government. This study recommends that Kericho County Government ought to conduct proper job analysis by tracking the employees’ duties and the duration of each task, observing the employee perform his or her job, interviewing the employee, managers and others who interact with the employee, and comparing the job to other jobs in the same department and job grade or job family