INFLUENCE OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PUBLIC POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN TURKANA COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Authors: Nixon Edung Amoni, Dr Gervasio Miriti, & Dr Benjamin Towett Koross 

ABSTRACT

Public participation challenges have significantly hindered the effective implementation of public policy in Kenyan County Governments since their inception in 2013. This has been evidenced in the Report by counties controller of budget and the continued impeachments of county governors due to poor governance cited by various county Assemblies, Turkana being not exceptional. This study aimed to determine the influence of public participation on policy implementation within Turkana County. The Hybrid theory of policy implementation was used as a research guide to the study. A conceptual framework revealing each variable was employed. The study adopted descriptive research design to gather qualitative and quantitative data. The study targeted 300 employees of Turkana County Government from different cadres. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 169 respondents using Krejcie and Morgan 1970 sampling table. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used as data collection instruments. The instruments validity was checked by conducting a pilot study in West Pokot County to test the strengths and weaknesses of the instruments. Reliability of the instruments was ascertained by use of Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient r>0.7 and above revealing that the instruments were reliable. Data was analyzed using SPSS Version 28. Descriptive and inferential statistics including Pearson Correlation and ANOVA were used to establish the significance level between independent and dependent variables. The study findings reveal that public participation (0.343, P=0.000 less than α=0.05) have a substantial impact on the successful implementation of public policy in Turkana County. The study recommends that, introducing inclusive participatory processes, especially for marginalized groups, ensuring they are integrated into the broader policy discussions is ideal for successful implementation of public policy across county governments.

Keywords: Public policy implementation.

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