Factors influencing sustainability of community water projects: a case of Kitui west sub county, Kitui county
Abstract
More than a billion people in developing world are vulnerable to access on daily basis, a
reliable source of clean water. The national governments and Non-Governmental
Organization have invested large sums of money over years developing community water
projects to address the problem of accessibility of water, but the aspect of sustainability of
the water projects is left in the hands of the community resulting to high failure rates of these
projects. In order to make the investments in water supplies more effective, failure rates of
these projects should be reduced. The Purpose of this study was to investigate the factors
influencing sustainability of community water projects in Kitui West Sub County in order to
make appropriate recommendations for enhancing sustainability of community water
projects. The study was guided by the following objectives; establish how community
participation influenced sustainability of community water projects, assess how technology
influenced sustainability of community water projects, establish extent to which management
skills influenced sustainability of community water projects, and find out how financial
factors influenced the sustainability of community water projects. The study used descriptive
survey research design. Data for the study was collected using closed ended questionnaires,
interviews and Focused Group Discussion. The questionnaires were administered to 195
respondents, interviews were conducted to 2 government officials and 3 Focused Group
Discussions were held with community management groups. The collected data was analysed
and presented using descriptive statistics in form of frequency tables and Multiple Regression
Analysis to establish the relationship between the variables. The study established that
sustainability of community water projects in Kitui West Sub County was being influenced
though differently by community participation, technology, management and financial
factors. The research also established that Managerial training of management committees,
managerial capacity of management committees, technical training of management
committees and financial support for payments of operations and maintenance services
significantly influenced sustainability of community water projects in Kitui West Sub
County. The study recommends that policy makers should formulate policies aimed at
addressing capacity building of management committees in terms of managerial and
technical aspects. Policy makers should also formulate policies to address sustainable
financing of operations and maintenance of community water projects.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Collections
- Faculty of Education (FEd) [5979]