Project Management Capabilities and Sustainability of Water Projects Funded by Embu County Government, Kenya
Loading...
Date
2025-02
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
The ever-increasing population growth in Embu, coupled with the county government's limited commitment to sustainable water projects, has resulted in a water sustainability problem. Although the County Government of Embu has stated its commitment to enhancing the sustainability of water projects it has implemented in Mbeere South and North sub-counties, there has been a lack of progress in implementing sustainability measures. This has led to significant challenges in sustaining water projects. Despite the County Government’s efforts to improve sustainability, there has been a lack of progress in implementing sustainability measures, raising concerns about the long-term viability of water projects already in place. Against this background, the present study sought to investigate the influence of project management capabilities and sustainability of water projects funded by the Embu County Government, Kenya. The study sought to determine the influence of resource allocation, stakeholder participation, management commitment, and digital inclusion on the sustainability of water projects funded by the Embu County Government, Kenya. The resource-based view, stakeholder theory, agency theory, and the technology acceptance model were used to underpin the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted targeting 6 water projects with a target population of 167 project administrators, members of committees from these projects, local leaders, and operating staff from water projects being implemented by Embu County. The sample size of 100 respondents determined scientifically will be selected through stratified random sampling. Primary data was gathered using a structured questionnaire that will have undergone pilot testing. The findings established that that resource allocation (β=0.171: p<0.05) and management commitment (β=0.466; p<0.05) significantly influenced sustainability of water projects. Furthermore, the results recognized that digital inclusion (β=0.323; p<0.05) have a significant impact on sustainability of water projects. Finally, stakeholder participation (β=0.064; p>0.05) does not influence significantly on sustainability of water projects. The study concludes that appropriate resources deployment during project management is critical in ensuring that project is completed with the quality that was intended. Similarly, project management team must involve all the stakeholders for successful implementation of the project. Furthermore, management commitment and sustainability of water projects are intertwined together and hence staff training, competitive reward and career progression is critical in successful project performance. Finally, digital inclusion is important during project management because it enables personnel in information sharing, data analytics as well as communication. The study recommends that project management need to deploy the right equipment and resources for effective project execution. Moreover, project managers need to engage all stakeholders in project development. Furthermore, management commitment in water projects is demonstrated through staff training for improved service delivery. Finally, for digital inclusion to be successful county governments ought to invest more on infrastructural development related to information technology.
Description
A Project Submitted to the School of Business, Economics, and Tourism in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of a Master in Business Administration Degree (Project Management) of Kenyatta University, February, 2025
Supervisor:
1.Josphat Kyalo