Stakeholder Management and Sustainability of Borehole Water-Funded Projects by Non-Governmental Organizations in Makueni County, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t70100Abstract
Makueni County, situated in Kenya's arid and semi-arid region, continues to face chronic water scarcity that significantly undermines community livelihoods and well-being. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have made substantial investments in borehole water projects to provide sustainable access to safe and clean water. Despite these interventions, the long-term sustainability of several water projects has been compromised by weaknesses in stakeholder management, including inadequate community ownership, poor maintenance culture, and insufficient institutional support. This study investigated the effect of stakeholder management on the sustainability of NGO-funded borehole water projects in Makueni County. The study was anchored on Institutional Theory, Resource Dependency Theory, and Stakeholder Theory. A descriptive research design was employed. The target population comprised participants across ten borehole water projects in Makueni County, from which a sample of 92 respondents was drawn using stratified random sampling. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data. Instrument reliability was assessed through Cronbach's alpha coefficient, with all constructs returning values above 0.7. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22, yielding both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that stakeholder identification (β = 0.446, p = 0.001), stakeholder communication (β = 0.243, p = 0.001), stakeholder involvement (β = 0.308, p = 0.001), and stakeholder empowerment (β = 0.444, p = 0.001) each had a statistically significant and positive effect on the sustainability of borehole water projects. The combined model explained 75.9% of variance in project sustainability (Adjusted R² = 0.759; F = 66.49; p = 0.000). The study recommends that NGOs and county authorities develop structured stakeholder identification frameworks, implement formal communication strategies, adopt participatory project management approaches, and invest in stakeholder capacity-building programs to enhance the long-term sustainability of water infrastructure projects.
Keywords; Stakeholders management, sustainability, borehole water-funded projects, non-governmental organizations.
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