Abstract: The difficulty with service delivery remains a hard task to determine amongst devolved governments and as such there are mixed reactions in the implementation of devolution. This paper aimed at analyzing the effect of devolution system of governance on service delivery in Nyamira County, Kenya. Various theories were explored including the Soufflé theory, the social capital theory, The Principal Agent theory and the Accountability theory. The soufflé theory was selected since it gives the best explanation on linkages between various variables of devolved system of governance and how they are related to service delivery. The study took a quantitative approach and adopted a descriptive and correlation research designs to facilitate determination and explanation of variable relationships and used a simple random sample of 154 respondents obtained from a target population of 3,125 employees of Nyamira County. Regression analysis, multiple regression and correlation were run to determine the relationship between resource distribution, citizen participation, accountability and transparency and service delivery. It was found out that devolved system of governance predicts service delivery. The study concludes that devolution devolved system of governance (R-square of 0.482; p value <0.05) has effect on service delivery and can be a crucial model of improving public service delivery in Kenya. The paper recommended that devolved system of governance can be effective model for improving service delivery.

Received April 5, 2020; Revised June 25, 2020; Accepted June 26, 2020

Abstract: Central Government Releases conduct decision making closer to people to improve governance and service delivery. This study was conducted to establish whether financial releases and social accountability practices had a significant effect on service delivery in Mayuge Local government, Uganda. The study adopted both descriptive and explanatory research design to identify, analyze and describe the relationship between variables. The study population was Mayuge Local government officials from all the counties. This study used multiphase sampling technique to select
the subjects of study. A pilot test was conducted to detect weaknesses in design and instrumentation. Cronbach’s alpha
was used to test for internal reliability of each variable used in the study. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis. The findings revealed that government releases had a significant effect on service delivery in Mayuge Local government in Uganda. Specifically, the study found that financial releases and social accountability practices all had positive and significant effect on service delivery. However, social accountability had a significant effect on service delivery independently but not jointly. The study concluded that government releases had a significant effect on service delivery. The study recommends that financial releases and social accountability
practices need to be facilitated to improve service delivery in Mayuge Local government in Uganda.