Stakeholder Participation on Sustainability of Community Development Projects Under Devolved Governance in Makueni County, Kenya

Abstract

Kenya's development agenda has been faced with historical challenges ranging from the top-down approach in development, allocation, and direction of huge resources to unplanned and unforeseen projects and poor projects management. Public participation is a fundamental standard of any nation's democracy and has remained one of the significant requirements for projects success and sustainability. The promulgation of the new Kenyan Constitution, 2010, made a deliberate effort to pave way for participatory development. However, this has not been fully realized in most sectors eight years down the line. The study sought to establish how citizen involvement in the project management cycle relates to the success and long-term existence of projects. In addition, it sought to investigate the implications of the mechanisms, processes and the established county structures of public participation at the county level. From the findings, the study established that mechanisms, processes, and country structures employed by the county governments and other development partners directly influence project sustainability. It also realized that the county has made some progress in entrenching public participation however with partial implementation of all the mechanisms, processes and structures required for sustainable public participation. The study recommends that the level of participation in projects should be increased; with more emphasis on the village and ward structures with adequate, clear and time information flow on public participation. The County Public Participation Framework should be enacted into law.