Revenue Collection Strategies and Revenue Generation in Western County Governments, Kenya

Abstract

Despite the devolved system of governance in Kenya, most of the counties, especially western Kenya, continue to face problems in raising enough own source revenue to fund their operations. As the local governments are under pressure to raise enough internal revenue to finance their operations, the need to adopt transparent and efficient revenue systems is no longer a choice but a requirement. This study sought to examine the relationship between revenue collection strategies and revenue yields in Western Kenyan counties with the goal of identifying best practices, systemic shortcomings, and feasible policy interventions. Guided by Public Financial Management theory the study employed a descriptive research design of 535 employees of county governments working in the revenue department of western counties of Kenya. A sample of 228 was approximated using the Yamane formula. Standardized questionnaires were employed in data collection and validity and reliability was ensured. The findings indicate that electronic payment systems (β= .627, ρ< .05), public enlightenment campaigns (β= .565, ρ< .05), and decentralized collection systems (β= 0.636, ρ< .05) have increased revenue inflows. The study recommends investments in training employees and using real-time auditing systems to boost revenue generation. This is considered to be an achievement of relevance to policy in improving revenue performance in county governments.