Leasing of Medical Equipment Project in Kenya: Value for Money Assessment

The Kenya Government’s commitment to provision of quality and affordable health care for all Kenyans from a constitutional, policy and even global perspective is not in doubt. As a critical component of economic development, Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is identified as one of the planks of the government’s “Big Four” Agenda.

Despite obvious successes in health outcomes, in part driven by Devolution, challenges especially of inadequate medical personnel, low specialized health infrastructure to deal with a rise in non- communicable diseases and cases of injuries remain. This has engendered increasing demand for health services, piling pressure on the government budget.

The leasing of medical equipment (Managed Equipment Services-MES) project was initiated in 2015 as an alternative health care financing option to scale up health infrastructure for provision of specialized medical care. The question of whether this was the most cost-effective intervention, especially as a public private partnership (PPP) project, is what this publication sought to investigate. Which then begs the question: four years down the line, is the public getting value for money from implementation of the project?

The Unintended Effect of Kenya’s Alcohol Regulation Policies

Kenya’s Public Debt

The study aims at providing the current state of  play on Kenya’s Public Debt and the assessement of its sustainability. Debt management  options, are also suggested to enhance prudence in resource utilization to achieve economic development.

Kenya’s Public Debt

Analysis of the Auditor General’s Reports on the Financial Statements of National Government

This publication examines the findings contained in the financial audit reports published by the Office of the Auditor General for the three consecutive financial years from 2013-2014 to 2015-2016. Guided by the fact that financial audits are conducted at the sector level, the scope of this study highlights the findings for the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the agriculture, health, education and devolution sectors.

The findings reveal that MDAs are heterogeneous in the care and fidelity with respect to public expenditure management. Whereas public spending has grown for all four sectors, the audit opinions have varied covering the full spectrum from Clean Opinions to Adverse opinions. This confirms the claim that different departments of the government render accounts that show poor levels of accounting and expenditure management to others that adhere fully and pass the constitutional threshold of lawful and effective expenditure management.

A Political Economy Analysis of Devolution in Kenya

This paper explores the diverse viewpoints of stakeholders on devolution and examines the implications of these recent changes in the micro- and macro-workings of Kenya through a political economy analysis framework. In what follows, interview results, are grouped into four thematic areas:

1. Public service delivery and development outcomes;
2. Revenue allocation and inter-governmental relations;
3. Inclusion, public participation and role of civil society; and
4. Expectations for devolution and possible future scenarios.

Key recommendations include:

• Conducting a Kenya-wide but county-specific needs assessment to identify priorities for each region while ensuring a sense of ownership for projects and empowering citizens to increase government transparency, monitor project implementation and hold stakeholders accountable to their roles and responsibilities within devolution.
• Continue to strengthen partnership between and among counties and encourage forward-thinking leadership to foster an optimistic outlook on devolution.
• Clarify roles between the counties and national government to prevent overlaps/duplication in functions and inefficient use of revenues.
• Follow best practices in the implementation of revenue allocation and public participation mechanisms.

Kenya Urban Areas Performance Index Report 2017

This report shows performance of the six largest urban areas in Kenya based on three areas, namely: service delivery, conditions for investment and governance. Performance of these urban areas is assessed using the Urban Areas Performance Index, a composite Index comprising 67 indicators (questions) that scores, on a scale of 0 (least performance) to 100 (best performance) points and ranks these urban areas. Urban areas that ensure individuals’ free choice, create favourable business conditions, use public resources efficiently and ensure transparency of their activities are ranked higher.

Also, the report provides a rich source of data and information that can be used by different audiences including policy makers, civil society, researchers, students, the media and indeed the general public to inform debate and dialogue on urban governance and planning. For example, this report provides policy makers with impetus to initiate the process of establishing urban areas structures. Similarly, it provides key messages for other groups such as the media and civil society to advocate for the same.

Public procurement in Kenya: Analysis of the Auditor General’s Reports

The IEA’s study on public procurement and loss of public funds is part of a larger global initiative on promoting civic engagement for open contracting.  “Open Contracting” is about publishing and using open, accessible and timely information on government contracting to engage citizens and businesses in identifying and fixing problems”. The underlying principle for open contracting is promoting disclosure of public contracts through all the stages of public procurement. The objectives of the study are to: Examine the public procurement and contracting process in Kenya and establish its strengths and weaknesses; analyse procurement related breaches highlighted by the Auditor General’s reports; track systemic loss of public funds through procurement and generate knowledge on high risk stages of the public procurement process for advocacy by CSOs.

Diversity Management and Pluralism in Kenya’s Major Private Sector Firms

This study seeks to establish the status of pluralism in the private sector in Kenya by examining: efforts by players in the sector aimed at promoting pluralism; the nature of diversity management in the sector; the extent to which the sector has embraced or resisted efforts towards pluralism; and identification of trends, challenges and drivers of pluralism in the sector. The study also aims at facilitating a common understanding of pluralism among all stakeholders in the private sector. The findings provide a resource list for private sector organizations’ top leadership and
management to learn more about diversity management and pluralism, with the goal of optimizing their organization’s approach to diversity management, and the ultimate realization of pluralistic
workplaces.

Youth Polytechnic Students’ Perception of Vocational Training in Nakuru County

The objective of this study is to create a foundation for quality service delivery in Technical and Vocational Education and Training in the County of Nakuru through the assessment of students’ satisfaction at polytechnics in the County. The study was designed for a thorough and detailed work to be conducted towards the development of an invaluable document not only for the target polytechnics and the County of Nakuru, but also for other polytechnics and educational institutions in Kenya. The outcome would therefore, be useful to TVET institutions in Kenya to continuously improve the quality of services rendered to students and enhance quality teaching and learning services delivered.