Influence of Strategic Leadership on Service Delivery in the County Government of Busia, Kenya

Abstract

In an Info track survey of August (2018), 76.7% of interviewed citizens of Busia County said that they are only surprised to see un-prioritized projects coming up. The County Government of Busia was also faulted for poor absorption of development and recurrent funds at a rate of 48.3% and 58.2% respectively. These disparities could be accredited to poor leadership in the County Government of Busia. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of strategic leadership on service delivery in the County Government of Busia, Kenya. The study was guided by Trait Leadership Theory and Strategic Leadership Theory. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Software version 24. The study was anchored on the explanatory research design. Target population consisted of 2,977 employees from the ten (10) Departments of the County Government of Busia from which a sample size of 353 respondents was arrived at. Study results were presented in the form of frequency distribution tables, graphs and pie charts that facilitate description and explanation of the study findings. From the results, strategic leadership had a significant positive influence on service delivery with p<0.01 and it significantly accounted for 57.9% variance in service delivery (R²=0.579, p<0.05). The study concluded that visionary leadership had significant influence on the service delivery in the County Government of Busia. The study recommends that employees in management positions in Busia county government to embrace visionary leadership by developing relevant sustainable development plans, setting clear performance targets and rewards as well as ensure that services meet all residents’ needs and expectations. These study findings are helpful in policy formulation in Busia County governments and industry.

 Keywords: Visionary Leadership, Service Delivery, County Government of Busia