Abstract:
Citizen participation is embedded in the
Constitution of Kenya 2010 and the County Governments
Act of 2012. The responsibility of operationalizing and
implementing these provisions lies with both levels of
government. Citizen participation is the process through
which stake holders input and share control over
development initiatives, decisions and resources which
affect them. Strengthening citizen participation is a key
focus of Kenya’s devolution under the constitution and
legal framework. This ambitious devolution shifts some
key decision making from central to county governments
creating a window of opportunity for more “bottom-up”
engagement backed by a constitutional and legal
framework that include provisions for government to share
information, consult the public and regularly gather citizen
feedback. Although counties are mandated to facilitate
public participation, the actualization and subsequent
impact of this aspect of good governance on service
delivery is a matter of public debate. This paper sought to
investigate the influence of citizen participation in
governance on service delivery in Kisumu County. Its
objectives were to examine the existing avenues available
for citizen participation, to assess the extent of citizen
participation in governance in Kisumu County, to examine
the challenges hindering effective citizen participation and
to assess the contribution of citizen participation in
promoting good governance and service delivery in
Kisumu County. A sample of 112 respondents was selected
for the study. These included 42 county government
officials and 70 local residents purposefully selected for the
study. Data was collected through interviews, collated and
presented in tables and discussions. The findings of the
study indicate that public participation has been largely
entrenched in key government roles in Kisumu County.
The input of the public is sought and co-opted at every
stage of the project cycle. The study established that this
participation has enhanced public ownership of
government projects and promoted accountability.
However, the scope and effectiveness of public
participation in the County has been hampered by political
interference, low turnout in government functions and lack
of adequate understanding of government procedures
among the community members. The findings suggest that
civic education must be intensified to increase the scale and
quality of public participation in Kisumu County.
