Assessment of E-Government Initiatives in Kenya to Understand the Challenges, Opportunities and Impact: Case Study of Huduma Kenya in Nairobi County

Assessment of e-Government Initiatives in Kenya to understand the Challenges, Opportunities and Impact: Case Study of Huduma Kenya in Nairobi County

By

Daniel Mainye

Submitted to the Strathmore Business School

For the 2015 Research Methodology Course Unit

ABSTRACT

“In October 2013 the Jubilee Government embarked on the implementation of the Huduma Kenya Program as a flagship e-Government project in its Manifesto to address the requirements of the Kenyan Constitution on quality and access to Public Services. Ultimately, the Government aimed at transforming the Public Service into a Professional and Customer-Centered Public Service. The initiation of Huduma Centers has ensured that considerable levels of compliance have been realized. Significant progress has been made on the requirement on governance, transparency and accountability. Strategic leadership, strategic decision making and change management in the public sector on service delivery have restored the citizenry confidence in the public service and created a new government brand that customers associate with newness, freshness and high standards in delivery of public services. Overall, the accountability framework has moved the public service to significant levels of efficiency” (Sarah & Moses 2015, p.1).

The success of Huduma Kenya is premised on the fact that there needs to be a balance between the interventions put in place (supply side) and the willingness of the citizens to engage and utilize the services offered (demand side).

This paper aims at bringing out explicitly the challenges being experienced so far since the programme was launched, the opportunities for improvement and highlight the impact that Huduma Kenya has created.

To achieve the aforementioned, this study utilizes mixed methods where the phenomenon of the study is probed using multiple approaches, that is, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods to answer the research question.

Keyword: e-Government: Kenya, Challenges, Opportunities, Huduma Kenya, Impact

TABLE CONTENT

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION        

1.1.        BACKGROUND        

1.2.        PROBLEM STATEMENT        

1.3.        PURPOSE OF RESEARCH        

1.4.        RESEARCH OBJECTIVES        

1.5.        RESEARCH QUESTION        

1.6.        SCOPE OF THE STUDY        

1.7.        SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY        

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW        

Chapter 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY        

3.1.        RESEARCH DESIGN        

3.2.        POPULATION AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUES        

3.3.        DATA SOURCES        

3.4.        DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES        

3.5.        DATA ANALYSIS AND INTEPRETATION        

3.1.        PRETEST OR PILOT STUDY        

3.2.        ISSUES OF RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY        

3.3.        ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS        

Chapter 4 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY        

Chapter 5 REFERENCES        

Chapter 6 APPENDIX 1: SAMPLE INTRODUCTION LETTER        

Chapter 7 APPENDIX 2: SAMPLE CONSENT LETTER        

Chapter 8 APPENDIX 3: SAMPLE INTERVIEW GUIDE        

Chapter 9 APPENDIX 4: SAMPLE QUESTIONAIRE        

1. INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides an overview of the study, the rationale, research objective, research problem, the significance and scope of the study

The emergence of information communication technologies has brought a lot of changes to the way things are done in the world. These changes are visible across the private and public sector.

A visit to most public sector offices in Kenya is a nightmare; it is characterized by a lot of paper work, long queues, bureaucracy, cramped spaces and a lot of frustrations. With the growing demands of citizens and changing global rules and regulations, the government of Kenya is under pressure to deliver at the right time and quality (Nugi 2012).

E-Government, which is a paradigm shift over the traditional approaches in Public Administration, means rendering of government services and information to the public using electronic means. It has ushered in transparency in the governing process; saving of time due to provision of services through single window; simplification of procedures; better office and record management; reduction in corruption; and improved attitude, behavior and job handling capacity of the dealing personnel (Monga 2008).

E-Government is a main priority for the Kenyan government towards realizing their national development goals. The e-Government programme launched in June 2014 aims at facilitating a better and efficient service delivery to the citizens, improve productivity amongst public servants, increase participation of citizens in government and empower the citizens. This study will help in improving the implementation of e-Government initiatives in Kenya

1. BACKGROUND

In October 2013 the Jubilee Government embarked on the implementation of the Huduma Kenya Program as a flagship project in its Manifesto to address the requirements of the Kenyan Constitution on quality and access to public services. Ultimately, the government aimed at transforming the public service into a professional and customer-centered public service. (Psck 2014).