Influence of Public Participation on Implementation of Street Lighting Project in Kasarani Sub-county, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Substandard execution and in some cases absolute failure of development projects has resulted from little understanding by communities and financial controllers of their roles and accountabilities in the handling of finances. Exclusion of the public during planning of development projects results in misplaced projects which are not beneficial to the whole population. In the past, communities have repeatedly lodged complaints over being left out in the design and development of construction projects in the counties in accordance with the provision of chapter eleven Article 201 which states that there should be public involvement in financial issues and transparency and answerability. This study therefore sought to examine the influence of public participation on development of sustainable Public Capital Projects in Nairobi City County, Kasarani Sub-County. The also sought to determine the influence of public participation in preparation of the County Integrated Development Plan, in budget preparation process, in governance process and in monitoring and evaluation process on implementation of street lighting project in Kasarani Sub-County. This study employed a descriptive research design. The target population of the study was 30,658 residents from Kasarani Sub County, 50 administrative Custodian in sub-County, 250 administrative Custodian in the City Hall and 85 elected members of the County Assembly. The sample size of the study was 300 respondents and stratified random sampling method was used in the selection of the samples. Primary data used in this study was collected by use of questionnaires and interview guides. Secondary data was collected from the Nairobi County Government publications. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods were used. Qualitative data was analyzed by use of thematic analysis. The statistical package for social science package (SPSS) version 22 was used to analyze quantitative data collected. Descriptive statistics used in the study included frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation. The study also used correlation and regression analysis to assess the influence of the independent variables on the dependent variable. The results were presented in tables and figures. The study found that public participation in the preparation of the County Integrated Development Plan has a positive and significant effect on the implementation of street lighting project in Kasarani Sub-County. The study also established that public participation in budget preparation has a positive and significant effect on the implementation of street lighting project in Kasarani Sub-County. In addition, the study revealed that public participation in governance process has a positive and significant effect on the implementation of street lighting project in Kasarani Sub-County. Further, the study concludes that public participation in monitoring and evaluation process has a positive and significant effect on the implementation of street lighting project in Kasarani Sub-County. This study recommends that the Nairobi City County should improve on methods of inviting public participation in projects identification, budget preparation, governance and monitoring and evaluation. This can be used by placing adverts in both mass media (television, radio and newspaper) and social media. The study also recommends that the County Government should improve integrity, public involvement in the budget making process and openness in the budget making process.