Abstract: This study focused on determinants and factors that play a role in performance improvement in public water companies in Kenya. For the last one decade or so, the Government of Kenya has been implementing aggressive Water Sector reforms aimed at bringing about radical change in the water and sanitation sector. Although a lot of gains were achieved within this time, sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation remains elusive to many Kenyans in terms of quality and quantity. The ministry in charge of water services has been mandated by the Government of Kenya to design and implement law that guarantee provision of adequate quality drinking water to the public. In furtherance to this cause, the following water agencies was instituted. The Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) were mandated to regulate the water agencies by checking on compliance with the legal regulatory environment. According to the water service regulatory Board (WASREB) Impact report 2014, Water Coverage for urban areas stood at 54%, whereas the 2016/2017 target was 76%. In the same period, urban sanitation stood at 73% against a sector target of 78% by 2016 as set by the national Water Services Strategy (NWSS). Water coverage in the rural areas was even lower at 51%. This study aimed at bridging the existing gaps by examining the Determinants of Performance Improvement of Public Water Companies in Kenya by studying four variables; benchmarking, ICT, legal and regulatory framework and staff managerial skills. This study provides more insight on the Determinants of Performance improvement of Public Water Companies in Kenya. he beneficiaries of this study will be; the government, water companies, researchers and scholars The findings of this study was significant to the entire water sector in Kenya because they served as references in setting certain standards for service delivery. The study focused on the 100 registered Public Water Companies in Kenya. The unit of observation was the middle level and top level managers in the 100 registered Public Water Companies in Kenya. The unit of analysis was the 100 registered Public Water Companies in Kenya. The study employed descriptive research design since it portrays an accurate profile of situations. The target population was 100 water companies registered by WAPSA. The study adopted a census survey with the respect of the unit analysis which all the registered Public Water Companies in Kenya.The data was then coded and checked for any errors and omissions (Kothari, 2010). Frequency tables, percentages and means was used to present the findings. Responses in the questionnaires was tabulated, coded and processed by use of a computer Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23.0 programme for data analysis. Study findings revealed that benchmarking should not only compare the outputs but also the process in which the output is obtained, where customer satisfaction always takes the center stage. The findings revealed that WASREB monitors and documents the performance of public water companies; rom the findings, it was found out that obsolete technology allows down operations in the organization; it discourages innovation in the organization and that due to obsolete technology, the quality of products usually gets compromised. On staffs managerial skills, the study found out that the staff are involved in the implementation of strategies. The Study Concludes that benchmarking should not only compare the outputs but also the process in which the output is obtained, where customer satisfaction always takes the center stage and that benchmarking provides a starting point to determine where inefficiencies lie by providing the bench marker with a comprehensive study of the relative performance of all the participants then identified gaps between the organization and its peers. The study recommended that staffs should be involved in the implementation of strategies that should have knowledge about the performance improvement in the public water companies that staffs should have the ability to understand the concepts of performance improvement in the companies and that they should have the ability to interact with each other and motivate one another since this affects performance of water companies significantly.
Keywords: Benchmark, Legal Framework, Information communication technology (ICT), Management skills Performance.
Title: DETERMINANTS OF PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT IN PUBLIC WATER COMPANIES IN KENYA
Author: Njoroge Kenneth Mwangi, Dr. Karanja Ngugi
International Journal of Management and Commerce Innovations
ISSN 2348-7585 (Online)
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