The Role of Cdf Supported Water Projects Towards Poverty Reduction in Ikombe Ward, Machakos County

Abstract

Poverty is a condition where people's basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are not being met. Kenya has wide disparities in economic, social and infrastructural development across regions. The country has been seeking for ways to address poverty. The CDF in Kenya is widely recognized as a successful initiative in devolving resources targeting development projects at the constituency level, aimed at alleviating poverty as well as addressing imbalances in regional development. This study sought to explore the role of CDF supported water projects towards poverty reduction in Ikombe Ward, Machakos County. The study was based on Decentralization theory and the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach. The study targeted the beneficiaries of the CDF supported water projects. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 70 respondents. Data collection was performed through questionnaire. Data coding and descriptive analysis were performed through SPSS. The data was summarized by use of tables and figures. The study established that; CDF supported water projects had a positive impact on locals‘ social economic development, therefore this study recommends for continuous CDF supported water projects especially in the uncovered areas in Yatta Sub-County. In most of the areas, project beneficiaries expressed greater concern on the management of the water projects, an aspect that threatened project sustainability. This study, therefore recommends the County CDF management committee to keep an eye on the appointed local project managers. The management committees should also be supported to undertake short project management courses. This will help to guarantee proper project management and sustainability. In order to empower the local communities to get full economic benefits from the CDF supported water projects, project beneficiaries need to be educated on Agricultural activities that can transform their social and economic welfare. This can be done through deployment of Agricultural extension officers. In order to ensure sustainability of CDF supported water projects, there is need to increase stakeholder participation. The management oversight committee should carefully assess the interest of the stakeholders; which will help to eliminate intergroup conflicts, enhancing project sustainability. Other stakeholders like investors, NGO‘s and well-wishers should also avail funds to the local communities in various locations in order to accelerate development at the grassroots level.