Factors influencing the role of women in devolved funded projects: a case of Njoro subcounty, Nakuru county, Kenya.

Abstract

Women constitute a very important part and parcel of the population of any particular country. Therefore their contribution towards various development projects in terms of identification, initiation and propagation of development agendas including the management of various devolved funds, cannot just be over emphasized. This research is tasked with the responsibility of assessing the role played by women who form an important and integral part of the society and also since they are taxpayers they contribute towards the finances that fund these development projects within Njoro Sub-County, Nakuru County. The study will focus on three independent variables. These are the various factors that will determine whether or not women have been adequately represented in the management of devolved funds within the sub county. These include: leadership roles for women within these oversight committees, women participation in all the processes undertaken in the utilization of these funds, and the management skills of the women who take part in the management of these funds. The study was based on social constructivism theory which assumes that knowledge is constructed socially by people and that both individuals and groups create their own perceived realities therefore reality is socially configured. The study looks at women’s role in the governance and ownership of projects of devolved funds a case study of Kanduyi Constituency in Bungoma County and also the gender gap in water resource management in Nile basin countries a case study for rural women in Uganda. Descriptive research design was applied in the study whose objective was to portray an accurate profile of persons, events or situations. To get the required sample size we used the krejcie and Morgan’s formulae and since the population drawn may not be homogeneous stratified sampling based on the wards was used so as to get a representative sample.The data collected was edited for completeness, correctness and consistency. The data was then coded and classified for easy tabulation. The data was then analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The study findings revealed that a majority of the residents of Njoro sub-county don’t think that women play any meaningful roles in the management committees in which they serve and also do not adhere to the laid down regulations in the management of the devolved funds. The study found out that only 29% of the members of these management committees are female. Most of the respondents (60%) thought that the participation of women in management of devolved funds is ineffective. This study found that 66% of all the respondents, including 80% of all women interviewed think that women are not adequately represented in the management committees. This notwithstanding, the majority agreed to the fact that one’s technical expertise affects their performance in management. In order to realize active women’s participation in community development projects financed by devolved funds in Njoro sub-county and to an extent in other devolved funds' projects in the new County government's structures, the study recommends more emphasis should be laid on governance roles assigned to women, constraints to women’s participation, effects of legislation on women’s participation and the impact of these devolved funds on women’s plights.