Resource Capabilities and Performance of Road Construction Projects Funded by Embu County Government, Kenya
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Date
2024-05
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Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Road construction projects sponsored by county governments in Kenya have experienced delayed completion, majority of them surpassing the planned budget and the quality delivered is below the expected standards. While some of the road construction projects in Embu have remained, stalled others are abandoned before the successful execution. Many counties have been faced with similar challenges since the inception of devolution in Kenya basing in information from the Parliamentary Accounts Committees of Kenya 2014- 2022. This situation has resulted into wastage of taxpayers’ money presenting an opportunity cost as the funds could have been used for other productive activities that can support overall growth of the economy of Kenya as a whole. Some concerns about unavailability of physical resources, misuse of allocated funds, limited human resource and inability to invest in modern and state of the art information and communication technologies have also been registered among road construction projects funded by Embu County Government. This study seeks to establish the effect of resource capabilities on performance of road construction projects funded by Embu County Government in Kenya. More specifically, the study sought to establish the effect of physical resources capability, financial resources capability, human resources capability as well as ICT capability on performance of road construction projects funded by Embu County Government in Kenya. The study was guided by resource-based view, theory of constraints, human capital theory and technology acceptance model. To obtain the data necessary for research, use of semi structured questionnaire was identified as the best tool. This study adopted descriptive survey and correlation designs. The unit of analysis was the Seven (7) road construction projects initiated in 2017 by county government of Embu and have remained incomplete till 2023.The target population included 67 contractors and supervisors, 30 employees from the planning department in county government of Embu and 70 community leaders that was drawn from specific areas within the seven (7) construction projects funded by Embu County Government. The total unit of observation added up to 167 respondents. The sample size of 117 was computed scientifically and selected through stratified random sampling technique. The questionnaire was used to gather information from respondents and the analysis was done through (SPSS) version 24 guided by means and standard deviations as well as regression analysis. The result indicated that majority of the respondents pointed out that the county had moderately necessary machines to carry out the construction work in the county. The result clearly indicated that the funding of road construction projects in Embu County was inadequate, Embu County did not get the necessary support from the national government and the partner to expand some of its road network. The findings indicated that training programs were moderately in place to equip project staff with relevant skills. The findings showed that ICT had a moderate effect on how well road projects functioned in Embu County. The study recommends on physical resource capability should be allocated based on the job and efficiency requirement, more machines during busy hours, and fewer machines at slower times. The study recommends that project managers should be mindful of the scope of the project they are operating on, because the greater the nature of the project, the more they will decide how to distribute the money. To further the research, there is need to investigate how resource capabilities impact the long-term viability of road projects in various counties throughout Kenya.
Description
A Project Submitted to the School of Business, Economics and Tourism in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of Degree of Master of Business Administration Degree (Project Management) of Kenyatta University, May 2024.
Supervisor
Paul Sang