Development of a civil service staff pensions management system in Kenya

Abstract

The field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is changing fast in the world economy and is seen as the key driver for change in the operations of many organizations. Studies have shown that organizations that have successfully trans- formed their operations and corporate image are those that have adopted the use of ICTs in their operations. This study sought to investigate the use of ICTs for efficient management of Civil Service Staff Pension Scheme in Kenya (CSSPS) with a view to develop an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System. In order to achieve the pur- pose of this study, six specific research objectives were addressed: to establish how CSSPS are managed in Kenya, to determine the extent of integration of ICT in the management of CSSPS in Kenya, to establish the usage of ICTs on enhancement of service delivery in Pensions Department and disbursement of pensions, to establish the role of ICTs in enhancing the security of Pensions Systems, to establish the chal- lenges of managing pensions schemes in Kenya and provide solutions to them and to develop an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) model (ICT Solution Prototype) for the management of CSSPS. The study adopted descriptive survey design involving both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The study targeted a population of 220 members of staff drawn from Management Staff, Retirement Benefits Determination Staff, Pensions Accounting and Payroll Staff, ICT Staff, Records Management Staff and Customer Care Staff. The researcher used purposive sampling to pick 68 respon- dents for the study sample size. The data for this study was collected from primary and secondary sources. The research tools used included; questionnaire, and inter- view. The study ran in two stages: the pilot stage, followed by the main study. The data from the research instruments were statistically analyzed and SSADM used to model the system. The results of the findings from the statistical analysis indicate that staff have had basic ICT training and have computers although they do not use them for offering pensions services. Regarding respondents perceptions of the usage of ICTs on enhancement of service delivery in Pensions Department and disbursement of pensions, the study established a majority acceptance of the usage of ICTs in order to enhance of service delivery of civil service staff pension scheme. Furthermore, on the role of ICTs in enhancing the security of Pensions Systems, the study established that most of the respondents show the need to use ICT to enhance security of Pensions payment while SSADM led to the development of CSSPS ERP. The study identified challenges that included: existence of multiple disintegrated legacy systems having manual interfaces thus resulting in errors in pensions calculations, loss of records due to lack of storage making retrieval of information difficult, poor ICT infrastructure, fi- nancial constraints as the main challenge hindering the effective use of ICTS for effi- cient CSSPS management. The study will help public service management to deal with the challenges facing their Civil Service Staff Pension Scheme in Kenya. The re- sult of the study will help to further develop appropriate ICT systems.