- The presence of basic public-service infrastructure is uneven across Kenya: o Large majorities of surveyed enumeration areas have access to schools (98%), the national electric grid (87%), health clinics (82%), and roads that are in fair, good, or very good condition (66%). Fewer have nearby police stations (56%) and piped-water systems (53%), and only 23% have sewage systems.
- Except for schools, these types of service infrastructure are significantly less available in rural areas than in cities.
- More than six in 10 citizens (63%) say they had contact with a public health clinic or hospital during the previous year. Fewer say they tried to obtain a government identity document (37%) or sought assistance from the police (17%).
- Among those who sought these public services, majorities say it was “difficult” or “very difficult” to get help from the police (69%), to obtain an identity document (67%), and to get medical care (63%).
- Two-thirds (67%) of those who attempted to obtain police assistance say they had to pay a bribe, as did more than half (56%) of those who sought an identity document. About one-third (32%) report having to pay a bribe to obtain medical care.
- Public services make up five of the top eight issues that citizens say their government must urgently address, led by the provision of health services.
- More than half of respondents say the government is doing a good job of providing a reliable electricity supply (57%) and addressing educational needs (54%).
- But majorities say it is performing “fairly badly” or “very badly” on maintaining roads and bridges (52%), providing water and sanitation services (52%), fighting crime (54%), and improving basic health services (63%).
The provision of public services such as health care, water, education, and security is a legal and moral imperative for governments, conditioned by the social contract (Nyabola, 2021; Sen, 1999). However, governments’ effectiveness and efficiency in providing these services are uneven, with notable variation between developed and developing countries as well as between urban and rural areas (World Health Organization, 2017; Hughes, Scott, & Maassen, 2017; United Nations, 2021). The 2025 global progress report on the Sustainable Development Goals reaffirms the core responsibility of governments to build citizens’ trust in public institutions by delivering high-quality services (United Nations, 2025).
Like many developing countries, Kenya faces challenges in the delivery of vital public services. Manipulation of government tenders to favour politically connected “tenderpreneurs,” political interference, embezzlement of government funds, weak accountability, infrastructure deficits, and lack of adequate resources are among the critical problems preventing effective and efficient provision of services (Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, 2024; Nsehe, 2015).
Confronting these hurdles, the Kenyan government has implemented measures to improve the delivery of vital services. The 2010 Constitution established county governments to bring public services closer to the people (Kenya Law, 2010). Today, key services such as permits and licences, birth certificates, social security and other benefits, pensions, and some categories of taxes are the preserve of county governments, albeit with mixed results in terms of delivery (Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, 2021; Muwonge, Williamson, Owuor, & Kinuthia, 2022).
In its Third Medium-Term Plan (MTP III), 2018-2022, of Vision 2030, the Kenyan government committed to modernising public service delivery by consolidating services and integrating them into the digital e-citizen platform to enhance efficiency and reduce bureaucracy (Government of Kenya, 2018). These goals are being extended in the MTP IV (2023-2027) under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), under which 57 Huduma Centres across the 47 counties offer more than 100 public services (Government of Kenya,2023).
Against this background, this dispatch examines Kenyan citizens’ experiences and perceptions of public service delivery. Findings from the most recent Afrobarometer survey show that access to public-service infrastructure is uneven across the country, especially when it comes to sewage and piped-water systems and police stations.
Kenyans who sought selected public services during the past year describe health care, police assistance, and identity documents as difficult to obtain, in many cases requiring the payment of a bribe.
Public services dominate citizens’ agenda for government action, and while more than half praise the government’s efforts to provide a reliable electricity supply and address educational needs, majorities express dissatisfaction with its performance on maintaining roads and bridges, providing water and sanitation services, reducing crime, and improving health care.
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