Fiscal Transfer on Intergovernmental Relations: A Case of Wajir County, Kenya

Abstract

The declaration of the constitution 2010 was proposed to change the predominant socio-political plan in Kenya. The constitution expects to achieve fiscal changes by evenhanded dispersion of assets to advance improvement strategies and administrations that are customized to local needs. Different laws and strategies, for example, the Public Finance Management Act of 2012 and the County Government Act of 2012 means to ensure, advance and authorize the execution of these standards in the 47 counties Regardless of all these changes, fiscal transfer has been facing challenging issues in the devolution cycle in Kenya, creating broad discussions among different partners especially between the devolved units and national government. This study aimed at exploring the effects of fiscal transfers on intergovernmental relations in Wajir County, with the aim of providing sustainable recommendations on the research topic at hand. The study objectives were to assess the impacts of the amount allocated, timely disbursement, procedure of and national government fiscal control measures on intergovernmental relations in Kenya. This study depends on the theory of fiscal decentralization by that analyzes the channels through which fiscal decentralization influences intergovernmental relations and the fiscal control theory. The survey utilized descriptive research design and target targeted region government officials and chosen officials from Wajir County and the staff of Wajir County. The primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Quantitative data was analyzed using clear measurements which incorporated; rates, frequencies, mean and standard deviation. For qualitative data, it got analyzed using thematic analysis. The study found out that resource allocated, timely disbursement of resources and procedure of allocation of resources significantly affected fiscal transfers on intergovernmental relations in Wajir County. On the other hand, national government fiscal control measures had an insignificant effect on the intergovernmental relations in Wajir County. The study recommends that county governments and the national government should look for ways of ensuring adherence to policies and also come up with mechanisms of developing new policies regularly, Resource allocation to various activities should be enhanced and that the health departments should allocate significant amounts to non- recurrent expenditure, amount of resources should be improved through regular trainings and Governance structures should be established with a clear chain of command and they should incorporate all the stakeholders involved.