Abstract
In Kenya, most community-based water projects face sustainability challenges, thus prompting a need to examine the extent to which participation by beneficiaries’ influence sustainability of community water projects. If this is successfully addressed, then sustainable development of community water projects is likely to be achieved. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of participation on the sustainability of community water projects in Narok County, Kenya. The study was anchored on Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) model. Quantitative research approach was used while the study adopted descriptive research design and explanatory research design. A sample of 384 subjects was through simple random sampling from a sampling frame of 15,500 elements using Cochran’s sample size determination formula in a population spread across the ten community water projects in Narok County, Kenya. Quantitative data was gathered by use of a questionnaire. Data was analyzed descriptively and inferentially. Inferential data was analyzed using mean scores and standard deviation. Data was also analyzed inferentially using correlation, regression and finally hypothesis testing was undertaken. Analysis showed r = -0.019, F (1,383) = 70.349, R2 = -0.019 at p = 0.01 < 0.05, H01 was rejected and it was concluded that there is a significant relationship between decision making and sustainability of community water projects. With r = 0.458, F (1,383) = 113.30, R2 = 0.10 at p = 0.01 < 0.05, H02 was rejected and it was concluded that there is a significant relationship between labour contributions and sustainability of community water projects. It was therefore recommended that community members who are such project beneficiaries be involved in decision making and where possible contribute towards project implementation right from inception to termination in order to create a sense of ownership and hence sustainability of community water projects upon completion
Highlights
Sustainability refers to the capacity of a system to be healthy and endure over a long period of time
Null hypothesis that decision-making has no significant influence on the sustainability of community water projects was rejected and it was concluded that decision making by community members has a significant influence on sustainability of community water projects. These results show that decision making by project beneficiaries significantly influence sustainability of community water projects
For objective one the concludes that sustained involvement of community members in decision making during the project management life cycle gives them legitimacy to participate an act which eventually translates into sustainability of community water projects
Summary
Sustainability refers to the capacity of a system to be healthy and endure over a long period of time. World Bank sectoral policy paper of 1975 highlighted the importance of community participation in rural development projects (Mundial, 1975). Despite the formulation of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) in the year 2000 to reduce the percentage of people lacking access to sustainable, safe drinking water, by 2015, most regions worldwide had not achieved these goals (World Bank 2017; World Economic Forum, (2015). The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that limited or lack of access to WASH services negatively affects communities’ health, education, work efficiency, and labor productivity, to name but a few (Harlin & Kjellén, 2015; Water, 2015). The water shortage especially in semi-arid developing countries such as Narok, Kenya has been further witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic that has left communities lacking
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