Devolved Governance and Social Transformation in North Eastern Region, Kenya

Abstract

Social change is increasingly recognized as a critical phenomenon in public administration, influenced by shifts in social, fiscal, and political structures that move governance from centralized to decentralized systems. Despite its significance, limited research exists in the Kenyan context examining the relationship between governance structures and community social transformation. The general objective of the study was to investigate the influence of devolved governance on social transformation in the North Eastern region in Kenya. The study also sought to determine the influence of administrative structure, fiscal structure, political structure and socio-cultural structure on social transformation in North Eastern region in Kenya. The study further sought to assess the moderating influence of leadership on the relationship between devolved governance structure and social transformation in North Eastern region in Kenya. The study was guided by the theory of change, alongside management, cognitive engagement, sequential decentralization, souffle, and general systems theories. Adopting a positivist philosophical framework, the research employed an explanatory and descriptive cross-sectional design. The unit of analysis comprised the counties of Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera, while the unit of observation included senior county employees in Job Groups M to S involved in strategic decision-making. Primary data were collected using self-administered questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Normality, heteroscedasticity, and autocorrelation were tested with the Jarque-Bera statistic, while exploratory factor analysis and moderated multiple regression were applied to examine relationships between devolved governance, leadership, and social transformation. The findings revealed that administrative, fiscal, political, and socio-cultural structures each have a positive and significant effect on social transformation in the North Eastern region. Leadership was found to positively moderate the relationship between governance structures and social transformation. Specifically, administrative autonomy in contracts, recruitment, and strategic decision-making, robust fiscal structures, accountable political systems, and culturally sensitive socio-cultural structures all contributed to promoting social transformation. Overall, the study concludes that devolved governance is a critical driver of social transformation in the North Eastern region of Kenya, and its impact is enhanced by effective leadership. The study recommends strengthening administrative, fiscal, political, and socio-cultural structures to enhance social transformation in North Eastern Kenya through improved autonomy, transparency, inclusivity, and community participation. Capacity-building, clear policies, accountable financial practices, and culturally responsive programs are essential for effective implementation and sustainable development outcomes. The study further recommends that future research adopt longitudinal or mixed-method designs to examine how governance and leadership reforms influence social transformation over time. Further, the study recommends that future research conduct comparative, multidisciplinary investigations across regions to examine broader dimensions of devolved governance, beyond social transformation, to generate comprehensive evidence for informed policy decisions.