The role of governance in management of devolved funds a case study of constituency development fund Kajiado north

Abstract

The CDF was introduced in Kenya for decentralization of decision making at the grass root level generally intending to take the bottom up approach rather than the top down approach used before in development initiatives. The fund has faced numerous challenges among them management and governance issues especially in accountability and transparency. The study’s purpose is establishing the role of governance on the management of devolved funds and in specific on the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). The study was undertaken in Kajiado North Constituency where the researcher used a descriptive research design approach to determine the role of governance in management of devolved funds. The study used a randomly selected sample drawn from the constituency using the rule of thumb. The sample was calculated from the urban population in Kiserian, Ongata Rongai and Ngong towns. The data was collected through questionnaires that were self administered and data analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study established that good governance is a pre-requisite to the success of the devolved fund but had not been enhanced in issues such as increasing accessibility which still remains low and in ensuring that community participation is highly encouraged. The study’s findings are significant to the literature on public governance and on the CDF score card as shown by evidence of loopholes in the policy framework and a management that lacks to fully appreciate good governance in the management of devolved funds especially in community participation. Good governance can therefore be achieved in encouraging the CDF management through the CDFC and CDC as well as other stakeholders to ensure that there are policies that ensure efficiency, there are methods of accountability and community are participative in the decision making process. The study also found that set policies should be reviewed so as to make clear the aspects of good governance that is required of the management of the CDF.