MPPM Thesis and Dissertations (2020)

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    The Effects of fertilizer market policy reforms in Kenya on performance of local fertilizer manufacturing firms - the case of Kel chemicals ltd
    (Strathmore University, 2020-09) Sahil, Shah S.
    As part of reforms to boost agricultural production, the Kenya government introduced a fertilizer subsidy named National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Program (NAAIAP) in 2006. This study uses fertilizer production, sales and income data of KEL Chemicals Ltd., the leading fertilizer manufacturing company in Kenya, to evaluate the effect of this subsidy on the performance of a local fertilizer manufacturing company. With respect to the NAAIAP policy, the specific objectives of this study were to: establish its effect on the fertilizer production of KEL Ltd; ascertain the policy effect on the financial performance of KEL Ltd.; determine how KEL Ltd deals with policy shifts targeting the fertilizer sector; and evaluate KEL’s modes of contingency and decision-making in the face of policy changes. Appropriate literature was reviewed to provide a foundation of knowledge on the subject and place the research within the context of existing literature. A mixed-method approach was employed to conduct an empirical investigation of the externalities of demand-side government interventions in the agricultural sector. The independent variable in this study was market policy reforms in the fertilizer market, which specifically focused on (NAAIAP) policy. The dependent variables were the performance indicators of KEL Ltd. Annual fertilizer production and financial data were collected from KEL ltd records from 1998 to 2015. This data was supplemented by key informant interviews with KEL’s top managers. Descriptive, trend analysis, and tests of significance on the quantitative data were done using Microsoft Excel while content analysis was carried out on the responses received from interviewees. This study found out that the NAAIAP policy had a positive impact on the fertilizer production and financial performance of KEL Ltd. Comparative analysis of KEL’s fertilizer production, fertilizer sales and profits showed that the annual means and medians for all these indicators were significantly higher, at α=0.05, after the introduction of the fertilizer subsidy. The study also found that the management of KEL carries out regular reviews of its operating strategies to address public policy shifts in the fertilizer industry and that KEL continuously strives to improve on their contingency plans to deal with adverse policy reforms. This study concluded that the NAAIAP policy led to an increase in fertilizer production, sale, and profitability of local fertilizer manufacturing firms. However, this research recommends that further studies should be carried out to determine the impact of the NAAIAP subsidy policy on the overall growth of the agricultural sector in the country as well as how this policy has affected the distribution, sale, and use of fertilizer in the country.
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    Examining the effectiveness of micro and small enterprise authority in implementation of the MSE Act, (2012)
    (Strathmore University, 2020-06) Njoki, Mary Mwangi
    Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) create jobs and contribute to innovation and economic development. The MSE Act, 2012 provides a legal, institutional and regulatory framework for the promotion and development of MSEs in Kenya. The five major objectives of the Act are to provide an enabling business environment, facilitate access to business development services for MSEs, facilitate formalization and upgrading of informal MSEs, promote an entrepreneurial culture and promote representative associations. The Act provides for the creation of the MSE Authority which is responsible for implementing the Act. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of this Authority in implementing the MSE Act 2012. The research objectives were to determine the extent to which the MSE Authority had implemented the Act, to examine the challenges the Authority had faced and how they had moderated its expected outputs and to discuss how the Authority had mitigated these challenges. Using top-down and bottom up theories of policy implementation as a theoretical framework, the thesis of this study was that success or failure of the MSE Act 2012 depended on how it is implemented. The study applied a qualitative case study design. Using purposive sampling to identify senior officials of the MSE Authority, the researcher identified respondents who could speak to the intentions, plans and performance of the Authority. The data was analysed using framework analysis based on the research questions and the objectives of the Act. The study found that the MSE Authority had only partially implemented the MSE Act 2012. The challenges that the Authority faced that moderated its output were the failure to operationalise key provisions of the Act including establishing the Office of the Registrar of MSE Associations and the MSE Fund. The Authority also suffered from chronic underfunding and understaffing. There were other government agencies with similar mandates which resulted in duplication of efforts, wastage of resources and interagency conflict. Recommendations of this study are that objectives of the Act should be clear and consistent, the link between the Act and the intended outcomes should be clear, the provisions of the Act should be fully operationalized, and a timeframe should be established for this, with incentives and sanctions for all agencies and stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Act. The Authority’s capacity should be improved by recruiting full time qualified, committed staff with relevant experience. For all of these to happen, support from political leadership is critical.
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    Awareness and implementation of the critical factors for sustainable tourism - a case of Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2020-11) Kuntai, Samuel Tunai
    Sustainable tourism ensures the protection of the setting, community participation and empowerment, sharing of benefits, development and growth in the local economy in tourism attraction sites. It lobbies for the maximum number of people who can use a site without an unacceptable alteration in the physical environment and decline in the quality of the experience gained by visitors. Awareness and implementation of critical factors for sustainable tourism by tourism stakeholders is an important step towards achieving sustainable tourism. The critical factors include elements that may affect the achievement of sustainable tourism. They are strategic features, management design, sustainable tourism policies and community participation. The main objective for this study was to assess the level of awareness and implementation of critical factors for sustainable tourism on the Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) in Kenya. A descriptive research design was used to assess the awareness and implementation of the critical factors for sustainable tourism. The target population was 262,106 which included the community members, tour operators, county government officials and the tour facility managers. The sample size was 183 respondents. A random stratified sampling method was utilized. Data was collected using the questionnaire, which was distributed to community members, tour facility managers, tourists, county government officials and tour operators. SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the quantitative data for the descriptive and inferential statistics. The linear regression model was used to test the relationship between critical factors and sustainable tourism. Strategic features, management design, sustainable tourism policy and community participSustainable tourism ensures the protection of the setting, community participation and empowerment, sharing of benefits, development and growth in the local economy in tourism attraction sites. It lobbies for the maximum number of people who can use a site without an unacceptable alteration in the physical environment and decline in the quality of the experience gained by visitors. Awareness and implementation of critical factors for sustainable tourism by tourism stakeholders is an important step towards achieving sustainable tourism. The critical factors include elements that may affect the achievement of sustainable tourism. They are strategic features, management design, sustainable tourism policies and community participation. The main objective for this study was to assess the level of awareness and implementation of critical factors for sustainable tourism on the Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) in Kenya. A descriptive research design was used to assess the awareness and implementation of the critical factors for sustainable tourism. The target population was 262,106 which included the community members, tour operators, county government officials and the tour facility managers. The sample size was 183 respondents. A random stratified sampling method was utilized. Data was collected using the questionnaire, which was distributed to community members, tour facility managers, tourists, county government officials and tour operators. SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the quantitative data for the descriptive and inferential statistics. The linear regression model was used to test the relationship between critical factors and sustainable tourism. Strategic features, management design, sustainable tourism policy and community participation have a positive and significant contribution towards sustainable tourism in the Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) in Kenya. The findings imply that improvement in critical factors will have significant contribution to sustainable tourism in the Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) in Kenya.ation have a positive and significant contribution towards sustainable tourism in the Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) in Kenya. The findings imply that improvement in critical factors will have significant contribution to sustainable tourism in the Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) in Kenya.
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    The influence of of devolved governance on the performance of health sector in Homa Bay county in Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2020) Ong'ang'a, James paul miller
    Healthcare sector in Kenya has experienced a lot of challengessince independence under a highly centralized government system. Health management was guided by decisions made at the capital, affecting equitable distribution of health funds and creating inequalities in the provision of health services across the country. It is against this backdrop that devolution was considered under the 2010 constitution to change the management of health system in Kenya. However, this transformation which saw the transfer of responsibilities and authority of health service delivery to county governments has not improved the performance of the healthcare system in most Counties in Kenya. Probably, this could be attributed to the complexity of Kenya’s devolution framework, general mismanagement or the counties’ unpreparedness to deliver the services. Other reports have also indicated that political pressure from the newly elected county governments led to a bulk transfer of functions, irrespective of the counties’ level of preparedness. This study analysed the influence of devolved governance on the performance of health sector in Homa Bay County, Kenya. The study was guided by four objectives: To determine the influence of devolved governance on the level of access of health services in Homa Bay County, Kenya; establish the influence of devolved governance on the status of human resource management in the health sector in Homa Bay County, Kenya; evaluate the influence of devolved governance on healthcare infrastructure in Homa Bay County, Kenya and assess the influence of devolved governance on funding and expenditure in health care in Homa Bay County, Kenya. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The target population was 90 nurses, 42 Ward Administrators, 3 County Executive Health Officers, 9 Sub-County Health Superintendents’ from Homa Bay County. Purposive sampling method was adopted to come up with a sample size of 93 respondent’s reprsenting 9 Sub-County Health Superitendants, 58 nurses and 26 Ward Administrators. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and Key Informant Interviews. Key Informant interview guide was used to collect information from interviewees. Questionnaire was used to collect information from the 9 Sub-County Health Superitendants from Homa Bay County while questionnaire was used to collect information from the 26 Ward Administrators and 58 nurses. Secondary data was sourced from health sector reports in Kenya from the year 2010 to 2014, documentary reviews of the minutes of meetings, Homa Bay County Integrated Development Plan 2013-2017, Homa Bay County Fiscal Strategy Paper (2015), Homa Bay County Health Sector Strategic and Investment Plan 2013-2017, the Homa Bay County Referral Hospital strategic plan and notices and memos on the notice boards health sector reports in Kenya from the year 2010 to 2014. The collected data was then analyzed through frequencies and percentages to enable the research come up with conclusions and recommendations for the study. The researcher employed the assistance of some computer tools, including the Statistical Programmes for Social Sciences (SPSS) and excel version 16 to analyze the data quantitatively. The analyzed data was presented in the form of graphs tables and charts. The Study established that devolution process has not been fully implemented and its effect has not been fully experienced in the health sector. The study found out that devolution of the procurement process has enhanced access to drugs and equipment in hospitals, however, health facilities still serve low number of patients. Employment in healthcare sector in affected by better remuneration in private sector. It was recommended that the health sector players should improve in financing of critical health investment areas, particularly those relating to improving quality of care, purchase of specialized equipment so as to restore public perception of good quality care and achieve devolution goals on improvement of primary health care facilities.
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    The Impact of cash management and other determinants on short term domestic debt in Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2020) Ireri, Michael Njeru;
    This research sought to determine the impact of the Kenya’s National Treasury cash management policy being implemented by the National Government on the short-term domestic debt. It also sought to analyze other determinants of short-term domestic debt. Using a time series monthly data from January 2010 to June 2019, and a dummy variable to differentiate the period when the cash management policy was introduced and implemented (one,1) and the period before it was implemented (zero,0), results of stationarity dictated the use of Autoregressive Distributive Lag Bound Test model as the variables of interest were either integrated of order zero, I(0) or order one, I(1). We also carried diagnostic and stability tests which confirmed no serial correlation in the series as well as stability of the model. The results show that over the period of analysis, the average bank overdraft has been Kshs27.11B; total cash holdings, Kshs191.98B; exchange rate stood at Kshs92.59 per US dollar; GDP growth rate was 5.14%; inflation rate, 7.25%; interest rate, 15.64% and treasury bills stood at an average of Kshs 376.78B. The ARDL Bound Test confirmed the existence of cointegration when bank overdraft was used as the dependence variable implying existence of long run relationship, further justifying the use of restricted Error Correction Model (ECM). The evidence in this study supports the view that in the long run, previous and current cash management affects bank overdraft positively while previous and current exchange rate affects bank overdraft negatively. In the short-run dynamics, previous and current cash management, inflation and exchange rate affects short-term debts in Kenya. As depicted by these results, past data and behaviors in dealing with interest rates, cash management, inflation and treasury bill affect current short-term debt. The dummy variable is found to be significant and has a positive coefficient with the two measures of short-term debt, implying that introduction of cash management policy by the National Treasury plays a vital role in the management of short-term debts in Kenya. The higher the amount of the idle cash held by national and county government, the higher the appetite for short term-debts. The error correction term (ECT) illustrating the speed of adjustment has a coefficient of 0.60 implying that there is about 60% feedback from the previous period into the short run dynamic process. In terms of policy recommendation, the National Treasury’s objective of Cash Management implementation should be encouraged with focus on mopping idle cash held at end of day by MDAs; and continued macroeconomic stability pursuit by ensuring stability in the interest, inflation and exchange rates.