Empowerment as a Tool in Public Participation and Socioeconomic Development
Abstract
The constitution of Kenya 2010 has given public participation prominence. Non-State and State Actors acting in the interest of the public should be involved in all public affairs. The 2010 Constitution of Kenya emphasises citizens’ participation. This background prompted this study, whose main objective was to examine the effects of empowerment on socioeconomic development in Kericho County. Participatory democratic theory guided this study. It targeted 550 employees working for the County Government of Kericho. Primary and secondary data collected using interviews and semi-structured questionnaires were key research tools. Enquiries of different types and surveying of facts about phenomena were the pillar of the study hence descriptive research design was deployed. A Target population of 224 officers and a sample of 144 was selected using a stratified sampling technique. Information obtained was checked for completeness, its clarity investigated, dressed and their organisation on the research instruments and analysis followed. Measures of association and descriptive statistics. The study used a a regression model to test the effect of public participation on socioeconomic development. The outcome was presented in the form of subjects such as tables. The finding indicated that the county used public meetings, gatherings and Barraza to enhance empowerment. The study found that equitable allocation of resources, self-help group funding and training assist in public empowerment. Therefore, public empowerment had a significant positive effect on socioeconomic development (P<0.05). This was achieved through public-private, foreign, and national government collaboration in projects. Empowerment programs done using public meetings had the lowest positive significant effect on socioeconomic development (P<0.05); public participation had a significant positive effect on the socioeconomic development of the county government. The study recommends that the county should employ sufficient researcher assistance as well as consider youth, women and persons living with disability enterprise in 30% preference and reservation in procurement
Downloads
References
Berman, T. (2016). Public participation as a tool for integrating local knowledge into spatial planning: planning, participation, and knowledge. Springer.
Cohen‐Rimer, Y. (2023). Participation in welfare legislation—A poverty‐aware paradigm. Regulation & Governance, 17(1), 83-102.
Cornish, F., Breton, N., Moreno-Tabarez, U., Delgado, J., Rua, M., de-Graft Aikins, A., & Hodgetts, D. (2023). Participatory action research. Nature Reviews Methods Primers, 3(1), 34.
De Oliveira, O. P. (2017). International policy diffusion and participatory budgeting: ambassadors of participation, international institutions, and transnational networks. Springer.
Granier, B., & Kudo, H. (2016). How are citizens involved in smart cities? Analysing citizen participation in Japanese``Smart Communities”. Information Polity, 21(1), 61-76.
Gu, H. (2016). NIMBYism in China: Issues and prospects of public participation in facility siting. Land Use Policy, 52, 527-534.
Hao, C., Nyaranga, M. S., &Hongo, D. O. (2022). Enhancing public participation in governance for sustainable development: Evidence from Bungoma County, Kenya. SAGE Open, 12(1), 21582440221088855.
Kumar, N., Raghunathan, K., Arrieta, A., Jilani, A., Chakrabarti, S., Menon, P., &Quisumbing, A. R. (2019). Social networks, mobility, and political participation: The potential for women’s self-help groups to improve access and use of public entitlement schemes in India. World Development, 114, 28-41.
Lubuulwa, K. B. (2021). Putting Decentralisation Policy into Practice in Uganda: A Participatory Action Research Study of Local Government Empowerment for Local Economic Development.
Lune, H., & Berg, B. L. (2017). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences.
Yamane, Taro. (1967). Statistics: An Introductory Analysis, 2nd Ed., New York: Harper and Row
Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International.
Mayer, I. (2015). Qualitative research with a focus on qualitative data analysis. International Journal of Sales, Retailing & Marketing, 4(9), 53-67.
Mohajan, H. K. (2018). Qualitative research methodology in social sciences and related subjects. Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, 7(1), 23-48.
Mutisya, M. (2018). The Impact of Public Participation OnMakueni County’s Development Programs-A Case Study of Ivingoni/nzambani Ward, Kibwezi East Constituency (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi)
Mutua, J. N., &Kiruhi, T. M. (2021). Village Elders’ Participation in Public Governance in Kenya: A Phenomenological Study. Open Journal of Leadership, 10(2), 110-128.
Naidoo, C., &Ramphal, R. R. (2018). The factors that affect public participation for effective municipal service delivery: A case of ward committees. South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 29(4), 82-93.
Nguyen, T. D., Shih, M. H., Srivastava, D., Tirthapura, S., & Xu, B. (2021). Stratified random sampling from streaming and stored data. Distributed and Parallel Databases, 39(3), 665-710.
Nielsen, V. L., Nielsen, H. Ø., &Bisgaard, M. (2021). Citizen reactions to bureaucratic encounters: Different ways of coping with public authorities. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 31(2), 381-398.
Nthiga, G. K., &Moi, E. (2021). Public Participation Effects on Prioritisation of Constituency Development Fund in Makueni County, Kenya. Journal of Public Policy & Governance, 5(1), 45-56.
Nyong’a, E. M. M., &Gachanja, P. M. (2021). Public Participation in the Policy Making Process: An Evaluation of Makueni County, Kenya. International Journal of Current Aspects, 5(2), 36-49.
Mubita, A., Libati, M., &Mulonda, M. (2017). The importance and limitations of participation in development projects and programmes. European scientific journal, 13(5), 238-251.
Mugenda, O. M. & Mugenda, A. G. (2014). Research Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. African Centre for Technology Studies Press: Nairobi, Kenya.
Opiyo, S. A. (2017). Role of Public Participation on Performance of Devolved Governance Systems in Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, COHES-JKUAT).
Opongo, E. O. (2022). Democracy, Citizen Participation and Peace Economics in Kenya: Interrogating the Social Change Processes. The Journal of Social Encounters, 6(1), 62-83.
Raje, C. (2022). Perspectives and Problems of Developing Nations: Volume 3.
Roever, C., &Phakiti, A. (2017). Quantitative methods for second language research: A problem-solving approach. Routledge.
Santos, S. C., Neumeyer, X., & Morris, M. H. (2019). Entrepreneurship education in a poverty context: An empowerment perspective. Journal of Small Business Management, 57, 6-32.
Timboi, S. (2020). Devolved Governance and Economic Security in Selected Counties in Kenya (2010-2018) (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).
Turner, S. F., Cardinal, L. B., & Burton, R. M. (2017). Research design for mixed methods: A triangulation-based framework and roadmap. Organisational Research Methods, 20(2), 243-267.
Wanyande, P., &Wanyande, P. (2016). Devolution and territorial development inequalities: The Kenyan experience. Territorial Cohesion for Development Working Group, Rimisp.
Weymouth, R., &Hartz-Karp, J. (2019). Participation in planning and governance: closing the gap between satisfaction and expectation. Sustainable Earth, 2(1), 1-15.
Copyright (c) 2023 Kirui Tony Kipkemoi, Edna Jemutai Moi, PhD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
