Evaluation of the Relationship between Stakeholder Partnerships and Sustainable Water Service Provision in Kenya: Perspectives from Mandera County
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t4377Abstract
Empirical studies indicate that the implementation of national water policies yields mixed outcomes in terms of their influence on water service provision. While some contexts report improvements in access, quality and sustainability, others continue to experience limited progress due to institutional, financial and environmental limitations. In Mandera County, there are still gaps understanding the effective implementation of these policies, as evidenced by perennial water scarcity, inadequate infrastructure, and unequal distribution of services. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine the effect of stakeholder partnership on the provision of water services in Mandera County. The study was underpinned by Institutional Theory. The study was informed by pragmatism philosophy and employing a descriptive survey research design. The target population comprised 535 participants drawn from various key stakeholders in Mandera County, including the Water Resources Authority, Mandera Office, Mandera County Companies, community leaders, representatives from the Non- Governmental Organization, County Government of Mandera Water Department, and the National Drought Management Authority. The researcher used Slovin’s formula to obtain a sample size of 229 respondents. The study used both descriptive and inferential statistical methods in analysis. The findings were presented on tables. The findings revealed that the coefficient of determination (R Squared) was 0.495, implying that 49.5% of the variation in the provision of water services in Mandera County is explained by stakeholder partnership. The ANOVA results showed that the model was statistically significant in explaining the effect of stakeholder partnership on the provision of water services. The regression coefficient results in revealed a positive and statistically significant relationship between stakeholder partnership and provision of water services (β = 0.683, p = 0.000 < 0.05). In view of the findings, the study recommends that County government of Mandera County Government in collaboration with the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, should institutionalize and upscale multi-stakeholder partnership frameworks to improve coordination in water service provision.
Keywords: Stakeholder Partnerships, Sustainable Water Service, Water Provision, Mandera County Water Management in Kenya.
References
Aquino, E., Lee, Y. M., Spawn, N., & Bishop-Royse, J. (2018). The impact of burnout on doctorate nursing faculty's intent to leave their academic position: A descriptive survey research design. Nurse education today, 69, 35-40.
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99-120.
Bazaanah, P., & Mothapo, R. A. (2024). Sustainability of drinking water and sanitation delivery systems in rural communities of the Lepelle Nkumpi Local Municipality, South Africa. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 26(6), 14223-14255.
Brown, C. M., Lund, J. R., Cai, X., Reed, P. M., Zagona, E. A., Ostfeld, A. & Brekke, L. (2015). The future of water resources systems analysis: Toward a scientific framework for sustainable water management. Water resources research, 51(8), 6110-6124.
Brown, P. R. (2013). Integrated water resources management: An interdisciplinary approach.
Cherlet, J., & Venot, J. P. (2013). Structure and agency: Understanding water policy changes in West Africa. Water Policy, 15(3), 479-495.
Cho, W. H. (2019). Role of transfers in the provision of water: An application to public-private partnership and its impact on social welfare.
Constant, T., Charrière, S., Lioeddine, A., & Emsellem, Y. (2016). Use of modelling to protect, plan, and manage water resources in catchment areas. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23(16), 15841-15851.
Crossan, F. (2003). Research philosophy: towards an understanding. Nurse Researcher (through 2013), 11(1), 46.
de Vito, R., Pagano, A., Portoghese, I., Giordano, R., Vurro, M., & Fratino, U. (2019). Integrated approach for supporting sustainable water resources management of irrigation based on the WEFN framework. Water resources management, 33, 1281-1295.
DiMaggio, P. J. (1988). Interest and agency in institutional theory. Institutional Patterns and Organizations: Culture and Environment, 3-21.
DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147- 160.
Eweet, J. T., & Muna, W. (2022). Effects of Water Policy Implementation and Management of Common Pool Resources in Turkana County, Kenya. Journal of Public Policy & Governance, 6(2), 72-85.
Fardowsa, A. (2024). Assessment of Water Quality in Some Distribution Tankers and Boreholes in Selected Areas of Nairobi County (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).
Gachenga, E. W. (2012). Integrating customary and statutory law systems of water governance for sustainable development: The case of the Marakwet of Kenya. University of Western Sydney (Australia).
Hall, R. (1992). The strategic analysis of intangible resources. Strategic Management Journal, 13(2), 135-144.
Hassan, H. A. (2025). Egypt's Water Policy and the Challenges of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). In Nile Basin Politics (pp. 65-87). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Health. Academia Repository, 4(9), 48-64.
Inha, L. M., Katko, T. S., & Rajala, R. P. (2019). Improved water services cooperation through clarification of rules and roles. Water, 11(10), 2172.
J. O. (2020). Recent trends and national policies for water provision and wastewater treatment in South Africa. In Water conservation and wastewater treatment in BRICS nations (pp. 187-211). Elsevier.
Koehler, J., Rayner, S., Katuva, J., Thomson, P., & Hope, R. (2020). A cultural theory of drinking water risks, values and institutional change. Global Environmental Change, 61, 102061.
Kumar, R., Singh, C. K., Misra, S., Singh, B. P., Bhardwaj, A. K., & Chandra, K. K. (2024). Water biodiversity: Ecosystem services, threats, and conservation. In Biodiversity and Bioeconomy (pp. 347-380). Elsevier.
Lebu, S., Lee, A., Salzberg, A., & Bauza, V. (2024). Adaptive strategies to enhance water security and resilience in low-and middle-income countries: A critical review. Science of the Total Environment, 171520.
Lee, K. E., Mokhtar, M., Hanafiah, M. M., Halim, A. A., & Badusah, J. (2016). Rainwater harvesting as an alternative water resource in Malaysia: potential, policies and development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 126, 218-222.
Liddle, E. S., & Fenner, R. (2017). Water point failure in sub-Saharan Africa: The value of a systems thinking approach. Waterlines, 36(2), 140-166.
Lu, X., Zhang, X., Xu, Y., Yu, K., & Charles, S. P. (2008). Urban water resources allocation and management: A case study of Beijing. Water Resources Management, 22(12), 1759- 1774.
Marks, S. J., & Kumpel, E. (2018). Understanding user preferences and willingness to pay for water quality improvements in small town water services. Water Resources and Economics, 24, 28-45.
Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83(2), 340-363.
Mumma, A. (2007). Kenya's new water law: an analysis of the implications of Kenya's Water Act, 2002, for the rural poor. In Community-based water law and water resource management reform in developing countries (pp. 158-172). CABI.
Nairobi City County collaborates for comprehensive water and sanitation policy overhaul: Aligning strategies with National Water Policy 2021. (2023). Retrieved from https://nairobi.go.ke/nairobi-city-county-collaborates-for-comprehensive-water-and-sanitation-policy-overhaul-aligning-strategies-with-national-water-policy-2021/
Nganyanyuka, K., Martinez, J., Wesselink, A., Lungo, J. H., & Georgiadou, Y. (2018). Working with the grain: How amenable to digital transformation are the monitoring and repair of rural water points in Tanzania? Information Technologies & International Development, 14, 103-121.
Nwokediegwu, Z. Q. S., Adefemi, A., Ayorinde, O. B., Ilojianya, V. I., & Etukudoh, E. A. (2024). Review of water policy and management: Comparing the USA and Africa. Engineering Science & Technology Journal, 5(2), 402-411.
Nyanchaga, E. N. (2016). History of water supply and governance in Kenya (1895-2005): Lessons and futures. African Books Collective.
Oates, N., Ross, I., Calow, R., Carter, R., & Doczi, J. (2019). Adaptation and resilience in water management: A review of current approaches. Water and Climate Change, 10(2), 434- 457.
Obosi, J. O. (2017). Impact of public-private partnership on water service delivery in Kenya. Open Journal of Political Science, 7(2), 211-228.
Obosi, O. J. (2011). Decentralized governance in water and sanitation service delivery: A case study of Kisumu municipality, Kenya. African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 5(5), 282-293.
Ogendi, G. M., & Ong'oa, I. M. (2009). Water policy, accessibility and water ethics in Kenya.
Pache, A. C., & Santos, F. (2010). When worlds collide: The internal dynamics of organizational responses to conflicting institutional demands. Academy of Management Review, 35(3), 455-476.
Pandey, P., & Pandey, M. M. (2021). Research methodology tools and techniques. Bridge Center.
Powell, W. W., & DiMaggio, P. J. (Eds.). (1991). The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. University of Chicago Press.
Public participation and community engagement in domestic water supply management in Kenya. (2024). Retrieved from https://reachwater.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Public-participation-and-community-engagement-in-domestic-water-supply-management-v9.pdf
Quatember, A. (2019). A discussion of the two different aspects of privacy protection in indirect questioning designs. Quality & Quantity, 53(1), 269-282.
Ruiters, C., & Matji, M. P. (2016). Public-private partnership conceptual framework and models for the funding and financing of water services infrastructure in municipalities from selected provinces in South Africa. Water Sa, 42(2), 291-305.
Scott, W. R. (2001). Institutions and organizations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Shamoo, A. E., & Resnik, D. B. (2009). Responsible conduct of research. Oxford University.
Slovin, E. (1960). Slovin’s formula for sampling technique. Retrieved on February, 13, 2013.
Suda, A. O., Sušnik, J., Masia, S., & Jewitt, G. (2024). Policy coherence assessment of water, energy, and food resources policies in the Tana River Basin, Kenya. Environmental Science & Policy, 159, 103816.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2006). Human development report 2006: Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. United Nations Development Programme.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2015). Water in a changing world: The United Nations World Water Development Report 2015. United Nations World Water Assessment Programme.
UN-Water. (2007). Coping with water scarcity: Challenge of the twenty-first century. United Nations.
Van der Zaag, P., & Savenije, H. H. (2014). Integrated water resources management: Concepts and issues. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, 33, 290-298.
Van Vliet, M. T., Wiberg, D., Leduc, S., & Riahi, K. (2016). Power-generation system vulnerability and adaptation to changes in climate and water resources. Nature Climate Change, 6(4), 375-380.
World Water Council. (2000). Vision 21: The shared vision of the water community. World Water Council.
Yu, Y., Pi, Y., Yu, X., Ta, Z., Sun, L., Disse, M., ... & Yu, R. (2019). Climate change, water resources and sustainable development in the arid and semi-arid lands of Central Asia in the past 30 years. Journal of Arid Land, 11, 1-14.
Zucker, L. G. (1977). The role of institutionalization in cultural persistence. American Sociological Review, 42(5), 726-743.
