Factors Affecting The Effective Management Of Budget In Selected County Governments In Kenya (Makueni, Nairobi, Narok And Kakamega Counties).

Abstract

With the adoption of county governments in Kenya, it was vital to establish the influence of public participation, staff competency, government regulations and the application of information technology on effective management of budget in County Governments in Kenya. The problem that the study sought to address was lack of effective management of the budget. This was demonstrated by the huge sums of unspent amounts in County Governments’ accounts at the end of the Financial Year but with many incomplete projects according to a report from the National Treasury. The target population was County Government employees in the County Governments in Kenya while the accessible population were a sample of 96 was selected by the application of stratified sampling technique were employees working for the County Governments of Makueni, Nairobi, Narok and Kakamega. The researcher collected data through administering questionnaires to senior county government officials in each department. Descriptive research technique was applied to analyze and interpret data that made it possible to draw conclusions on the factors affecting effective management of the budget in County Governments. Analyzed data and findings were presented in tables, charts and graphical presentations. These were aided by the utilization of STATA which is a statistical software. The study established that there was a positive and significant relationship between the explanatory variables as tabulated above and effective management of the budget in County Governments in Kenya posting an R-Squared of 50.47%.The study therefore concluded that, public participation, staff competency and government regulations should be embraced since they demonstrated a significant positive relationship with the dependent variable.