EFFECT OF BUDGETARY CONTROL ON DELIVERY OF CAPITAL PROJECTS IN SAMBURU COUNTY GOVERNMENT, KENYA

Abstract

To meet their financial objectives, public entities frequently use budgeting as a tool for budgetary control. On the global level, budgetary control systems are used as planning and performance evaluation tools. The purpose of this study was to determine how the Samburu County Government's budget planning affected the completion of building projects. The objectives were to determine how the budget affects capital projects in the Samburu County Government, how monitoring the cash flow budget affects capital project delivery, and how capital-spending planning affects capital project delivery. The investigation into how budgetary control affects capital project delivery in the Samburu County Government was based on the financial theories of agencies, stakeholders, and institutions. A correlation study design was used to forecast the effects on operational budgets, cash flow budgets, and capital expenditure planning over five years between 2017 and 2021. Fifty employees from the 10 Samburu County ministries who work in the job groups J, K, and L were the focus of the study. These departmental leaders were actively involved in creating the budget. Because the target population was limited, the study used the census process to interview all 50 of the selected respondents. Surveys were used to collect the basic data for the study. The use of competent and administrative assumptions verified the substance's legitimacy. A pilot test was conducted at the Laikipia County Government to assess the dependability of the study instruments. The descriptive examination was used to summarize the acquired data. The data were analyzed for relationships using Stata 13, and the impacts were discovered using regression analysis for the impact of operation budget evaluation on capital project execution in Samburu County. The results of this study showed that capital project delivery in Samburu County was essentially affected by budget control, which clarified 77.3% of the fluctuation with P ˂ 0.05. The findings also demonstrated that the Public Finance Management Act 2012 significantly moderated the relationship between budget control and capital project delivery, where the effect size significantly increased to 85.3% of the variance with P ˂ 0.05. The findings of this study can assist county governments in better understanding the factors that influence county budget management frameworks and performance, as well as what ought to be changed to upgrade the aforementioned budget execution. Findings can also be helpful to academics while looking into how budgetary control affects the provision of public services. It may offer politicians and other decision-makers new insights into the delivery of capital projects and the management of public resources.