Evaluation of the role of civic leaders in the management of local authorities in Kenya: a survey of the North Rift region

Abstract

Local Government Authorities (LGA) came into being through an act of the Kenya parliament in 1963. LGAs were believed to be better placed than the Central Government in providing the basic needs and services at the local level since they had a better understanding of the local needs. LGAs have not been providing these services as required by the law. The study sought to examine the role of civic leaders in the management of selected LGAs in North Rift region, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were: To identify the various roles played by civic leadership in the management of Local Authorities; To find out the challenges faced by civic leadership in the management of Local Authorities in the North Rift; To explore strategies for improving the role of civic leadership in the management of Local Authorities in the North Rift. This study was based on the functional theory of Hackman & Walton McGrath (1962) Adair (1988) Kouzes& Posner (1995). According to this theory, management functions are closely inter-linked and interwoven. The target population was 183 councillors from the 9 local authorities. Stratified, simple random and purposive sampling procedures were employed to derive 126 respondents for the study. Interviews and questionnaires were used as data collection instruments. To ensure validity and reliability of instruments, a pilot study was carried out among 15 respondents drawn from local councils in South Rift. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze quantitative data where frequencies and percentages were used to present the results while content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. The study findings were: That civic leaders play several roles in the management of Local Authorities. These included policy formulation, development planning, and governance; challenges councillors face include: bureaucracy, outdated and inappropriate rules and regulations, poor service delivery, inadequate accountability, lack of staff training, political interference and unsatisfactory performance by some councillors and staff; ways to overcome the challenges include: reducing bureaucracy, removing outdated and inappropriate regulations, establishment of sound financial management, accountability and impressing professionalism in leadership. The study concluded that civic leaders play important roles in the management of Local Authorities. The study therefore recommended thatcivic leaders should be inducted in their roles, accept leadership as natural, and impress ways of dealing with the challenges. Finally it was suggested that further studies be conducted to establish factors affecting relationship between civic leaders and management of Local Authorities.