MPPM Thesis and Dissertations (2017)

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    Evaluating compliance of water policy with World Health Organization standards: a case study of county government of Machakos
    (Strathmore University, 2017) Mukunya, Sheila Mueni
    Standards are established through consensus building by organizations with the prerequisite authority to do so for purposes of giving guidance for optimal realization of any given objective whilst a public policy being a statement of intent by a public sector entity provides a future solution to the society in a predetermined way. The World Health Organization (WHO) is a body mandated to set norms and standards in the area of international health by the United Nations. The objectives of this study are firstly to determine the application of distance and water consumption standards in the implementation of Machakos County water policy; secondly to establish the number of boreholes and the number of litres required based on the compliance to the WHO standards and thirdly to determine the status of the implementation of the Machakos County Water policy as at May 2017. The World Health Organization (WHO) is a body mandated to set norms and standards in the area of international health by the United Nations since access of water is recognized as a right in as far as the right to health is concerned. The standard with respect to distance is 1 km from home to source of water, while the standard with respect to consumption is 50 litres per capita per day. A hybrid of qualitative and quantitative research methods known as the mixed method approach, was used in this study and the following findings made; i) the full implementation of the Machakos County Water policy will increase the consumption per capita per day by to 52.5litres thus comply with WHO standard on consumption however, it will reduce the distance from the home to the source of water to 3 km which is not in compliance with WHO standard on distance ii) the status of the implementation of the policy as at May 2017 has not reduced the distance as such the distance is still a 5 km while the consumption of water per capita per day has increased to 39.5litres.
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    Longevity improvement: financial implications to public defined benefits pension schemes in Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2017) Koross, Kiprono David
    Provision of old age social security benefits by governments, pension schemes and insurance companies form the largest proportion of age related spending across the world. It has also been established that people are living longer than initially projected. In Kenya, people born between 1980 and 2000 are living longer and healthier lives than those born before 1980 (World Population Prospects, 20 12). It has also been established that overall liability arising due to longevity of life for the hypothetical defined benefits schemes is estimated to increase. This research examined the implications of longevity improvement on the liabilities of existing public Defined Benefits pension schemes in Kenya which is an issue to both the members and the financiers of the scheme as they represent uncertainty for the amount required to plan for the retirement fund adequately. The research first determines whether pensioners are living longer and then calculates the impact of the longevity improvement on the liabilities of pension schemes. Finally, the paper discusses several policy issues on how to deal with longevity risk while emphasizing the need for policy guidance from the industry regulator. The research applied quantitative analysis. The results of the study show that the members of the Defined Benefits Schemes are living longer than expected and this has a financial impact on the liabilities of the scheme. The findings also establish that the pension funds did not fully account for future improvements in mortality and life expectancy. In response to the changes in lifetimes of the retirees, one policy response was to increase the retirement age from 50 to 60 years and to increase the pension factor thereby increasing the productivity period of an individual while deferring the retirement liability.
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    Effects of gender, labour and market availability on technology adoption by dairy farmers in Keiyo South
    (Strathmore University, 2017) Korir, Steve Kipng'eno
    This study was undertaken in Keiyo South, Elgeyo-Marakwet County to identify factors affecting dairy technology adoption. Specifically, the study investigates the role of market availability, labour availability and gender in determining technology adoption. The three technologies under study were: grade cattle, Artificial Insemination (AI) and zero grazing. The study also tested if the technologies are jointly adopted as complements or substitutes. The primary data collected from 250 sample households was analyzed with multivariate probit model. The study established that the three technologies are strongly correlated i.e. they are complementary where adoption of one technology increases the likelihood of adopting either of the other two technologies. Using a multivariate probit model, the study finds that gender differences in the adoption of some technologies do exist. Jointly managed dairy projects were more likely to adopt zero grazing and AI whereas female managed dairy projects are more likely to adopt grade cattle compared to male managed dairy projects. Market and labour availability influenced adoption of zero grazing, however, there was no influence on the two dairy technologies under study i.e. Artificial Insemination and grade cattle. Availability of extension services influenced the adoption of Artificial Insemination and grade cattle. Land size did not influence the adoption of any of the three technologies. Capital costs and running costs were identified as the main challenges inhibiting the adoption of zero grazing and grade cattle. Other than the cost of semen, other challenges which were noted by the farmers included the low success rates, delays in response by the Artificial Insemination providers and the unavailability of this technology through government extension officers. Understanding the key determinants of adoption and challenges of these technologies is critical as adoption leads to improved production which in effect has an impact on the welfare of the households. The study recommends that enabling policies should be set up to ensure that small scale farmers have access to affordable credit to improve adoption technologies such as grade cattle. Improved extension services will also ensure dairy farmers are able to access affordable and reliable dairy cattle breeding services such as Artificial Insemination. Reliable extension services by the government should be accessible to the farmers.
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    Factors affecting retirees’ consumption pattern in Nairobi County, Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2017) Chebii, Simon Kibet
    Globally, the elderly comprise 10.4% of the global population and is projected to increase to about 21.7% by 2050 with about 80% living in developing economies. Old age poverty have several secondary consequences. Owing to HIV/AIDS pandemic, the older assume more responsibility for caring orphaned and vulnerable grandchildren. As they age, the elderly are more vulnerable to disability, suffer from high incidences of sickness and lack financial resources to access medical care. Shielding the elderly from the risk of poverty is a major challenge to any developing economy. Since 1948 when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognized income security in old age as a fundamental human right, the rich economies have invested heavily in providing income security for older people, while coverage of formal pension schemes has remained low in poor economies. Public pension programs have major impact on old age poverty. Pensioners’ consumption pattern also play a critical role in mitigating against poverty at old age. The objectives of the study were to determine the factors that affect the consumption pattern of the retirees and to identify the effect of lump sum pension, monthly pension, income from invested pension, education level and time taken to disburse the pension funds on the consumption patterns of retirees. The study findings are expected to contribute to knowledge on pension utilization; inform social protection policy; provide useful insights to the retirees on how to best manage their consumption patterns; and useful to researchers, academicians and policy makers by contributing to the body of knowledge on retirees’ consumption patterns for the purpose of shaping policy and practice. This study sampled 105 respondents, employed non-experimental research design and sought to investigate factors that influence retirees’ consumption pattern in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study considered Friedman’s permanent income hypothesis model and Keynes absolute income hypothesis. The study used structured and semi-structured questionnaires to collect the primary data. The study revealed that whereas education level has a positive influence, Lump sum and monthly pension have negative influence on retirees’ consumption pattern. However, monthly income from invested pension and the time taken to disburse pension have no influence on retirees’ consumption pattern. The study recommends full implementation of policy on pension payment that is compulsory to all employers, revision of guidelines to ensure schemes nurture a savings culture and increase contributions to reasonable levels, a robust and comprehensive retirement planning package, and adequate pre-retirement information to help retirees make informed choices.
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    Influence of demographics and weather information seeking behaviour on food production by small-scale farmers, Mbeere South sub - county, Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2017) Nthigah, Silas Wachira
    The agriculture sector in developing countries is increasingly becoming knowledge intensive due to weather and climate change. Climate change has been affecting the amount of rainfall that some areas have been receiving, both in quality and quantity. This therefore, affects the production of crops in areas where farmers rely on rain fed agriculture. Seasonal weather forecasts have a great potential for helping in improving food and nutrition security, human livelihoods and agricultural potential of areas where rainfall patterns have changed and extreme weather events are expected. The main objective of the study was to establish the influence of information seeking behavior on food production by small-scale farmers, Mbeere South sub-county, Kenya. This study employed descriptive research design. The population for this study involved 26,037 small-scale farmers and the sample size was 150 small-scale farmers. The main instruments for the study was the use of questionnaires that was administered to the respondents. The study used quantitative techniques in analyzing the data. Descriptive analysis was employed. Inferential statistics such as correlation and regression analysis were used. The organized data was interpreted because concurrence to objectives using assistance of a computer software to communicate the research findings. The research found that demographic factors have positive influence on food production by small-scale farmers in Mbeere South sub-county. It also found out that there was strong positive correlation between the factors influencing weather information seeking behavior, preferred sources of weather information, effects of information seeking behavior and crop production in Mbeere South sub- county. An increase in any one of them would result in an increase of the food production in the targeted area. The researcher recommended that policies should be put in place that would improve delivery and use of weather information to small-scale farmers, which would in turn help in improving the food production by the small-scale farmers.