Effectiveness of Internal Communication Strategies at Lake Victoria North Water Services Board

Abstract

The Government of Kenya initiated reforms in the Water Sector in the year 2002 with an aim of making the sector more efficient and effective in service delivery, with the coming of the Water Act 2002. The reforms were necessitated by poor service provision by the previous Water Service Providers, existence of poor water and sanitation infrastructure for Water and Sanitation Services Provision in the country, lack of ownership and conflict in roles and responsibilities of the players in the water sector, and lack of consumer involvement in the Water Service Provision. The Water Act 2002 established various institutions within the Ministry of Water and Irrigation with different specific roles. Among the institutions formed under this act are eight regional Water Services Boards tasked with ensuring efficient and economical provision water and sanitation services in their areas of jurisdiction. One of the eight Water Services Boards is Lake Victoria North Water Services Board, with headquarters in Kakamega and serves eight counties located in the Western Kenya and North Rift. Lake Victoria North Water Services Board identified strategic communication as one of the means that the Board would use to strengthen its capacity in fulfilling its mission. The Board planned to achieve this through development and implementation of a communication strategy and the establishment of a communication unit and resource Centre. In 2007, the Lake Victoria North Water Services Board contracted the services of a private consultant; Alpex Consulting Africa Ltd., to evaluate the situation of communication within the Board and amongst its contracted Water Services Providers with the aim of coming up with a Communication Strategy that would enable the Board reach out to its stakeholders regularly and effectively. The research adopted descriptive research design. The sample from this study was drawn by use of purposive sampling. Mixed method approach of data analysis was used where both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques informed the process of analysis. The findings from the study revealed that Communication was not adequately embedded in the Board's operations. The study revealed that communication in the Board was in most cases ad hoc and based on the need to need basis. A communication strategy was therefore developed to systematize communication functions within the organization. The communication strategy document has been in implementation by the Board since the year 2009. This study established the effectiveness of communication strategies in the employee relations at Lake Victoria North Water Services Board.