Effect of Public Participation on Effective Implementation of Performance Based Budgeting in Devolved Government of Meru County

Kenya’s devolution entailed creation of new political and administrative units simultaneously. This was perceived to be the best governance system that can ensure more equitable model of sustainable economic development for most Kenyans. However, the implementation of devolution system of governance has been affected by constant debates raging on whether funding from national treasury is sufficient or not. Despite the existence of public financial management reforms such as performance-based budget which was adopted under the new constitution in Kenya, wastage of public funds is still a problem. The objective of the study is to establish the effect of public participation on implementation of performance based budgeting in devolved government of Meru County. Public participation is the process by which public or an organization concerns, needs, as well as values are incorporated into government decision making through consulting interested or affected individuals, organizations, and other government. The target population of this study was 10 County Executive Committees, 35 Meru county government directors and 69 Members of County Assembly. Questionnaire was employed to gather data and analyzed by utilizing SPSS Version 25.0. Public participation explained 44.8% of the performance based budgeting in devolved government of Meru County Kenya. Pearson correlation indicated that public participation, has a significant association with the performance based budgeting in devolved governments. Regression of coefficients showed that public participation and implementation of performance based budgeting in devolved government have a positive and significant relationship (β=.604, p=0.000<0.05). It was concluded that public participation is essential in budget making and implementation process. The study recommends for a specifically tailored civic education and awareness programme for the members of the public regarding public participation in the implementation of performance based budget. There is the need to improve the level of awareness to the public participation on the budget implementation through seminars, workshops and trainings. Keywords: Public participation, performance based budgeting, devolved government, Meru County