Project Planning and Sustainability of Water Projects in Samburu County, Kenya

Abstract

Most developers are concerned about the sustainability of water projects, particularly in water stressed areas. According to research, most water projects in Samburu County developed fail to reach sustainability immediately after the project closure period or after three years. As a result, this research focuses on project planning to ensure the long-term water projects sustainability. This research was based on an overall objective of the influence of project planning on the long-term water projects sustainability in Samburu County, Kenya. The key variables in the research included assessing the impact of stakeholders' analysis, the impact of project schedule, and the impact of project cost. The study adopted the four-capital model theory, as the anchor theory in this study, as well as the theory of change (TOC). Descriptive research approach was employed in the study in order to accurately describe the population in question and the targeted group included water project management committee members, project beneficiaries, and opinion leaders from Samburu County's three completed water projects. A sample size of 99 participants who were not involved in the pilot study were distributed with questionnaire to give their response research, and purposive sampling was utilized in selecting the participants. All quantitative data obtained via structured instruments and questionnaires was cleaned, sorted, edited, and keyed into SPSS for further analysis, and descriptive analysis was performed, including the calculation of frequency, percentages, means, and standard deviations. According to the study's findings, the r values ranged from 0.7 to 0.8, indicating that project planning influences water projects sustainability. Project scheduling received the highest r values, indicating that it had the greatest impact on the water projects sustainability; this was followed by stakeholder analysis and project cost. The results also showed that all variables in project planning are significant since their computed critical values are indicated to be below 0.05 with 95% confidence, indicating that all project planning components had a substantial effect on the9sustainability of water projects. According to the findings, stakeholder analysis also involves stakeholder mapping based on stakeholder influence, interest, and involvement, all of which have a significant9impact on project success. The project schedule element comprised regular planned updates or reviews of the project schedule that led to water project sustainability, proper technology choices, increased communication, and time allocation for each activity.