Public participation in development projects in Wote, Nziu ward of Makueni county, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish the factors influencing public participation in development projects in Wote/Nziu ward. The objectives were: To establish the effect of socio-economic factors on public participation in development projects in in Wote/Nziu ward, Makueni County; To establish the influence of political factors on public participation in development projects in Wote/Nziu ward of Makueni County; To assess the effect of demographic characteristics of the participants on public participation in development projects in Wote/Nziu ward, Makueni County. The total population for the study was 14,283 respondents. Using Yamane sample calculation formula, a sample of 100 respondents was selected from different sub locations within Wote/Nziu ward. The study sample was divided into 85 general public respondents and 15 Key Informants were drawn from Makueni County officers who are directly involved in Public participation. Nine focus group discussions were conducted among the Project Management Committee members from the nine different projects within Wote/Nziu ward. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to analyze the data. Popular themes emanating from the study responses were analyzed via SPSS under the qualitative method. Data in numerical form was summarized and presented in descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentages under the quantitative method. The study found that socio-economic factors such as education and income levels, affect public participation in development projects. As such the county uses local languages to engage the illiterate at the grass roots level. Politics was found to affect public participation the most. Political alienation, party affiliation, and interference by politicians negatively affected public participation. The study further found that demographic background such as gender, age, disability, and birth background affected public participation the least. The county involved everyone and, as a result, fostered unity and maximized on citizens involvement in development projects. The study therefore concludes that party politics and involvement of politicians is an impediment to public participation in development projects. Socio-economic factors such as illiteracy negatively affects public participation in areas where vernacular languages cannot be used in a public forum. The Makueni County Government does not discriminate people based on their demographic background in public forums. The study recommends that the County governance of Makueni County should put more emphasis on civic education and effective public participation training at the grass root level to strengthen good communication, public engagement and enhance sufficient systematic gathering of information and analysis of community needs in order to effect development agenda. The study concluded that County leaders should emphasize on good governance through transparency and accountability in their systems to build public trust and confidence through restructured strategy to adequately and efficiently address community problems.