Citizen Involvement in Policy Implementation at the Parliamentary Service Commission

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Date
2023
Authors
Khisa, Robert Lwangale
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
In its Parliamentary Strategic Plan 2019-2030, the Parliamentary Service Commission highlighted the need for increased citizen involvement in legislative processes. The commission established plans to inform the public of the Parliament’s workings and laws enacted to actualize Article 118 of the Constitution on public participation and access in parliamentary processes. However, despite the Constitution of Kenya’s (2010) identification of citizen involvement as the foundation for true democracy and good governance, the process of citizen involvement in policy implementation has barely progressed in Kenya. Three objectives guided the study examining citizen involvement in policy implementation at the Parliamentary Service Commission. The objectives comprised “to examine citizen representation in policy implementation at the Parliamentary Service Commission,” “to assess citizen participation in policy implementation at the Parliamentary Service Commission,” and “to examine citizen engagement in policy implementation at the Parliamentary Service Commission.” To realize the set objectives, the research adopted a descriptive research design targeting 840 permanent and pensionable employees at the Parliamentary Service Commission and Embakasi East residents. The study sample comprised 90 PSC employees, national government administration officers from Embakasi East, and 100 citizens selected through stratified random sampling from the five Embakasi East wards; each ward giving 20 citizens. The study employed questionnaires to obtain quantitative data on citizen involvement in the Parliamentary Service Commission policy implementation from the selected 190 respondents. Of the 190 respondents, 168 formed the basis of the study. Microsoft Excel and SPSS programs were utilized in the data analysis exercise, and the obtained data were presented through tables, charts, and figures. The descriptive analysis of the collected data consisted of frequencies, mean scores, percentages, and standard deviations. Alternatively, the inferential statistics, particularly the multiple regression analysis, helped test the three hypotheses: H01: Citizen representation has no significant effect on policy implementation at the Parliamentary Service Commission; H02: Citizen participation has no significant effect on policy implementation at the Parliamentary Service Commission; H03: Citizen engagement has no significant effect on policy implementation at the Parliamentary Service Commission. The multiple regression found 0.000 p-values for citizen representation and engagement and policy implementation and a 0.643 p-value for citizen participation and policy implementation. The study concluded that a statistically significant relationship existed between citizen representation and citizen engagement and policy implementation and a statistically insignificant relationship between citizen participation and policy implementation at the Parliamentary Service Commission thereby recommending improvement in awareness of the citizen representation, participation, and engagement techniques in policy implementation at the Parliamentary Service Commission. The study also recommended appropriate measures to be put in place by the Parliamentary Service Commission to ensure that Kenyan Citizens are well represented during the policy implementation process at the commission
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the Department of Public Policy and Administration in the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts in Public Policy and Administration of Kenyatta University, March 2023.
Keywords
Citizen Involvement in Policy Implementation, Parliamentary Service Commission
Citation