Influence of Community Empowerment on Sustainability of Water Supply Projects: Case of Ng’uuru-gakirwe Water Project Tharaka South Sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

Globally, a huge financial input has been disbursed in the public to augment the livelihood of people in communities. Although there exists substantial investment in water supply infrastructure and piped water supply schemes, sustainability remains a concern to communities. Varied water supply projects in the rural setup fail or stall after a few years of development, owing to substantial issues. This study pursued the assessment of the influence of community empowerment on sustainability of water supply projects in Tharaka South Sub-County, Tharaka Nithi County. The study sought to establish how community financial empowerment initiatives, community participation, capacity building and access to information influence sustainability of water supply projects. The researcher targeted a population of 482 registered household members within Tharaka South Sub-County who were members of Ng’uuru-Gakirwe water project. A sample size of 214 which included 202 general registered beneficiaries’ members picked randomly and 12 committee purposively sampled. Using structured questionnaires, a pilot testing was carried out in the neighbouring Rwompo Sub-location to determine the effectiveness of the questionnaires in data collection. Adopting a descriptive research design, data collected was evaluated starting with the demographic data, culminating in an examination of the data collected in regard to the study objectives. It was established that while the number of beneficiary farmers has risen over the years, the water supply facility remains the same decreasing the quantity of water supplied to the recipients this may be unsustainable if the project facilities are not continuously expanded. The results show presence of income boosting initiatives within the community that enhances the ability to enhance members’ financial capacity to pay for the water supply. There however exists a need for financial literacy education for the project beneficiaries. The study results show high involvement of the members in implementation, development, and monitoring of the project. Members actively engage in the activities of the project by contributing member fees, attending annual meetings and voting in and out of members. Participation of the members in the project activities has guaranteed the project remains operational for the many years despite the many challenges that it faces. Project members have received economic trainings on organic farming practices and growth of exotic herbs such as carcade, camommila, and lemon grass as a result the members have gained skills that have translated to members’ financial empowerment, culminating in the project sustainability. There is however a need to train community members on water maintenance by the project. Committee members have received training on leadership and management of the projects that enable them to play their role in project monitoring and evaluation. Project members are cognisant of the project goals and objectives and have access to information relating to the project progress and performance. Regression analysis was pertinent to the establishment of the role of community empowerment variables on project sustainability. The results depict that all variables in the study are significant and thus Ng’uuru-Gakirwe water project has remained sustainable over the years due to engagement of fractions of each component of community empowerment. The findings show that community participation represents the most noteworthy factor, followed by access to information. Key recommendation arising from the study is that the government and other development organisation should empower the community financially, with knowledge and skills, allow them access to projects information and include the community in project activities for sustainability of water supply projects. The study recommend further research on influence of environmental conservation on sustainability of water supply projects.