Stakeholder Perceptions of Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers and Service Delivery Outcomes: A Mixed-Methods Study of Kenya's Devolution Framework

Author

Jacob Momanyi Masara, Prof. (CPA) Arnety N. Makokha, Dr. Charles Omoga

Abstract

 This study examined stakeholder perceptions of intergovernmental fiscal transfers and their effect on service delivery outcomes in Turkana County, Kenya, within the framework of Kenya's devolution architecture established by the Constitution of Kenya 2010. Grounded in a pragmatist philosophical worldview and adopting a concurrent mixed-methods convergent parallel design, the study collected data from 196 community members through a structured five-point Likert scale questionnaire and 15 key informant interviews (KIIs) drawn from county government officials, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officers, and civil society representatives. Quantitative data were analysed using Pearson correlation and simple linear regression in IBM SPSS Statistics version 26, while qualitative data were coded using NVivo version 14 and subjected to Braun and Clarke's (2019) six-phase thematic analysis. The study found very strong, positive, statistically significant relationships between service delivery outcomes and four fiscal transfer dimensions: adequacy (r = 0.992, p < 0.001), equity (r = 0.993, p < 0.001), timeliness (r = 0.970, p < 0.001), and transparency and accountability (r = 0.993, p < 0.001). All four null hypotheses were rejected at p < 0.001. A particularly significant finding was a perfect inter-scale correlation (r = 1.000) between the equity and transparency scales, indicating that stakeholders experience these as a single, inseparable governance failure. Qualitative analysis identified five themes: chronic fiscal inadequacy, systemic inequity and the political economy of fiscal allocation, disbursement delays as a structural development barrier, a transparency and accountability deficit, and uneven development outcomes characterised by infrastructure gains amid persistent socioeconomic exclusion. The study proposes a five-pillar optimization framework for intergovernmental fiscal transfers in marginalized counties and contributes empirical evidence supporting reform of Kenya's equitable share formula, disbursement architecture, and accountability mechanisms.

Keywords

intergovernmental fiscal transfers, devolution, service delivery, equity, transparency, Turkana County, Kenya, fiscal federalism, mixed methods

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References

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