ASSESSMENT OF CAPACITIES OF MEMBERS OF THE COUNTY ASSEMBLY IN DISCHARGING THEIR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Abstract

Kenya got a new constitution in 2010. With it came the county government with its legislative arm, the county assembly. The people tasked to carry the roles in the county assembly are the Members of the County Assembly. There is no mention of capacity for one to be a member of the county assembly in the constitution, who have key of roles to perform in the county assembly. The main objective of the study was to do a capacity assessment of the Members of County Assembly (A cases study of Nakuru County). The specific objectives that were looked into are academic/technical skills, human skills and leadership qualities. The study adopted use of survey method of research. The study targeted all the members of the county assembly, seventy four (74) Members of the County Assembly (55) elected Members, and nineteen (19) nominated members). The study also targeted the speaker and the clerk of the county assembly since they work together with the Members of the County. The sample size was 38. The study employed random sampling to get the sample size. The study was informed by two main theories, theory of Responsible Leadership for Performance and Social influence theory. The data was collected using questionnaires which were given to the Members of County Assembly and interview schedule were administered to the Speaker and Clerk. The data was analyzed by using of descriptive statistics. The key findings of the study are that there is need for capacity building in academics skills, human skills and leadership qualities. The study also found that there is a relationship between capacity (academic, human skill and leadership qualities) and the ability to discharge duties and responsibility. The study recommended that training should be done among the Members of the County Assembly that will address the capacity gaps among them. Also the study recommended that in improving the capacities of Members of the County Assembly, the National Assembly should legislate on the qualification of persons running for the offices of Ward Representatives/ Members of County Assembly.