Influence of monitoring and control on the performance of constituency development fund projects: a case of Kisumu town east and Kisumu rural constituencies in Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between project monitoring and control activities and the project performance in the CDF projects in Kisumu Town East and Kisumu Rural Constituencies. The research objectives were used to guide the collection of required data from the respondents. The study had four main objectives which were: to establish the influence of time control on the performance of CDF projects in Kisumu Town East and Kisumu Rural Constituencies; to establish the influence of quality control on the performance of CDF projects in Kisumu Town East and Kisumu Rural constituencies; to determine the influence of cost control on the performance of CDF projects in Kisumu Town East and Kisumu Rural Constituencies; and to evaluate the influence of crisis management on the performance of CDF projects in Kisumu town East and Kisumu Rural Constituencies. The study adopted census method in which 140 respondents from the CDF committee members in the two constituencies were interviewed. The data was collected through a self-administered structured questionnaire. The research instrument was validated through content related method and reliability through half-split criterion. The data collected was analyzed by descriptive statistics. Correlational analysis was conducted to determine the influence of monitoring and control on the performance of CDF projects. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to describe the data and presented in form of tables. The study found out that the use of time control had a correlation coefficient of 0.874. The findings showed that majority of the respondents (84%) acknowledged that that Gant Charts improves productivity through tracking of results. 86.4% of the respondents concurred that task prioritization helps in identification of urgent needs. The use of cost control tools had a correlation coefficient of 0.921. 88% of the respondents agreed that the cost change control systems help in cutting down unnecessary expenses. The study also showed that 84% of the respondents support that the cost variance helps in reconciling incurred cost and expected cost. The use of quality control had a correlation coefficient of 0.785. 90.4% of the respondents averred that quality training ensures good understanding of project procedures. Majority of respondents (94.4%) agreed that the use of charts helps in planning and scheduling of tasks. A majority of the respondents (80.8%) confirmed that the use of fish diagrams helps in quick understanding and troubleshooting cause of problems in a project. Still 3.2% of the respondents did not ascertain the significance of the fish diagrams given that they do not use them. The use of crisis management tools had a correlation coefficient of 0.748. A majority of respondents (92.8%) agreed that a good communication plan is very vital for CDF project performance. 82.4% of the respondents affirmed that maintaining a good communication efforts help in future references. The study recommends that clear rules should be enacted to specifically guide the project management committee on what is expected of them for better management practices and especially this of CDF projects.