An Assesment of Sustainability Strategies for Community Managed Rural Water Supply Schemes in Njoro Ward, Nakuru County, Kenya
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Date
2020-11
Authors
Mogaka, Elkanah Ombiro
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Community managed rural water supply schemes (CMRWSS) are community water projects
undertaken with and for the community in addressing local interest, needs and aspirations. From
preliminary observations, most CMRWSS in the country collapse or perform below expectation
soon after the implementation phase. Some literature reviewed in this study attest to the fact that
some of these rural water projects which depend on external funding stagger to survive once the
support gets withdrawn as a result of what this study view as unreliable sustainability strategies in
place. Report from World Bank (WB) reveals that the Government of Kenya receives donor aid
from various sources to fund water projects in the country but most projects fail to yield expected
results. That scenario opened a research gap the study sought to unravel. Thus, the study embarked
on assessing sustainability strategies of CMRWSS by probing how community participation;
project financing; management approaches and community training on operations, maintenance
and management would influence sustainability frameworks used by CMRWSS. The study site
was Njoro Ward of Nakuru County. The study used the stakeholders’ participation theory which
appreciates the input of both internal (community) and external (donor) stakeholders as integral
players in enhancing sustainability. Descriptive survey design was used as it gives an in-depth
probe of the phenomenon under study. The target population was 4,743 registered members
belonging to seven CMRWSS. The unit of analysis was ‘household’ because CMRWSS’
membership was per each household. Yamane (1967) formulae with an error margin of 5% was
used to obtain the sample size of 368 out of the given target population. The sampled respondents
were distributed among the four sub-locations in the vast Ward using stratified proportional
sampling technique based on membership strength for each sub-location. Respondents from each
stratum (sub-location) were selected through a simple random sampling technique. Five key
informants were selected purposively to give their opinion on the subject matter. The questionnaire
was the primary instrument or tool for data collection for this study. Quantitative data analyzed
using SPSS (Version, 20) and descriptive statistics were presented through percentages and
frequencies. The information was presented by use of bar charts, graphs and pie charts and
discussions. Content analysis was used to analyze data that was qualitative in nature from openended
questions. The study established that sustainability strategies of community managed rural
water supply schemes could be made effective by: involving stakeholders to participate fully,
adoption of reliable management approaches, training of community management committee
frequently on project operations, maintenance and management. Developing strategic plans for
financing water supply systems was also crucial. The study recommends that community members
should be engaged actively across all the phases of the project, particularly at the planning and
design phases. Also, the study recommends that policy makers could formulate policies to address
sustainable financing of community water projects.
Description
A Project Submitted to the School of Humanities in Partial Fulfilment of Requirements for the Award of Kenyatta University Degree of Master of Arts in Community Development, November, 2020
Keywords
Assesment, Community, Rural Water Supply, Schemes, Njoro Ward, Nakuru County, Kenya