ACCOUNTABILITY STRUCTURES PRACTICES ON QUALITY OF SOCIAL SERVICE DELIVERY IN PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF RWANDA
Abstract
In public sectors of any complexity, multiple accountability relationships link the organizations providing services, the government and the general public. The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of accountability structures practices on the quality of social service delivery in Rwanda. Just as lower-level employees within organizations are managerially accountable to their superiors, organizations are accountable to their own higher-ranking bodies. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The target population of the study was 7000 respondents. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected through structured questionnaires. The sample size of 379 respondents was determined using the Yamane’s formula. The questionnaire was pretested before data collection for validation and reliability. The collected data was coded and analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods with the help of descriptive and inferential statistics. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 24 was used. Testing of hypotheses was done using analysis of variance. Variance Inflation Factor was used to illustrate the significance of the association between governance practices on the quality of social service delivery by local governments in Rwanda. Analyzed data was presented using tables and percentages. The hypothesis was tested by using multiple linear regressions and determined using p-value. The acceptance/rejection criterion was that, if the p value is less than 0.05, we reject the HA but if it is more than 0.05, the HA is not rejected. Therefore, the alternate hypothesis is that accountability structures practices have a significant relationship with quality of social service delivery by local governments in Rwanda. Results showed that the p-value was 0.00. This was supported by a calculated t-statistic of 3.616 that is larger than the critical t-statistic of 1.96. The alternative hypothesis was therefore not rejected. The study therefore adopted the alternative hypothesis accountability structures practices have a significant relationship with quality of social service delivery by local governments in Rwanda. The study concluded that there exists a positive significant relationship between accountability structures practices and quality of social service delivery in Rwanda. The results revealed that accountability structures practices is statistically significant in explaining quality of social service delivery in Rwanda. The findings supported the previous researchers’ findings that Social accountability practices are actions by civil society and citizens to push officeholders to report on and answer for their actions; this category is the demand side of accountability. Based on the study findings, the study recommended institutional leaders to adopt a culture that allows them to influence other staff into achieving organizational goals and objectives and that necessity to transfer leadership capabilities into the strategic assets of institutions. Senior managers were also recommended to set up goals that are clearly defined as well as SMART objectives and ensure that all decisions made during board meetings are aligned to the set goals and the mandate of the institution. The government was also recommended to allow the board to make independent decisions which could be reviewed later
Keywords: Quality of social Service delivery, Accountability structures Practices, Public institutions in Rwanda
CITATION: Ngirabakunzi, B., Iravo, M. A., Namusonge, G., & Mulyungi, P. (2021). Accountability structures practices on quality of social service delivery in public institutions of Rwanda. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 8 (2), 377 – 389.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v8i2.2002
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