Determinants of Public Participation in Budget Making Process in Devolved Governments in Kenya: A Case of Trans Nzoia County. Journal of International Business, Innovation and Strategic Management

Abstract

Participatory budgeting has been supported in the legislative framework in Kenya, however, the process faces challenges characterized by low participation rates. This study therefore interrogated the influence of citizen’s perceptions, information availability and citizen’s knowledge on public participation in budget making process in Trans Nzoia County, Kenya. The opinions of Sub County Administrators, members of the county assembly, Ward Administrators, County executive committee members and adult citizens of Kiminini Sub-county in Kenya were sort. In total, the study sampled 448 respondents through multistage sampling. A mixed methodology was adopted where both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed. A binary logit regression model was also used to show the relationship between the study variables. The study findings indicated that there is a low public awareness regarding public participation in the county in the tune of 29%. It was also established that the level of public participation in budget making process in the county was low at 7%. Additionally, the study established that majority of the citizens have a negative attitude towards participatory budgeting arguing that it was not adding any value to the development of the county.