Influence of stakeholders role on performance of constituencies development fund projects a case of Isiolo North Constituency, Kenya

Abstract

Since its introduction CDF has made a great impact, with numerous CDF projects coming up in the country. However, it is evident that CDF money is not managed in a transparent manner and that communities are not sufficiently involved in its management leading to loss of funds, numerous incomplete, low quality and irrelevant project across the constituencies in the country. Some constituencies have performed well, while some poorly. Despite the many studies done on CDF, none has ever been done on the effect of stakeholder involvement in project performance. Of the 155 CDF projects so far carried out in Isiolo North Constituency, some schools have CDF projects that have stalled due to lack of funds, three dispensaries are not operational, and many roads are still impassable especially during rainy seasons.

The purpose of the study was to assess the role of various stakeholders such as CDFC, PMC and government officials in the performance of CDF funded projects and use the findings to come up with recommendations/measures to strengthen use of CDF funds. The research study adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population for this study was representatives from all one hundred and fifty five CDF projects (155) in Isiolo North Constituency. Data was also collected from fifteen (15) CDF committee members and five (5) government representatives (departmental Heads). Stratified proportionate random sampling technique was used to select 140 respondents from the project representatives.

The study further used a census approach in picking all the fifteen (15) CDF committee members and five (5) government representatives (departmental Heads) making a total population of 160 respondents. Semi structured questionnaire and interview schedules were used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential analysis was applied to measure and determine the relationship that exists among the collected data by using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS V 17.0).

This study found that COFC, PMC and government officials' role in project implementation contributed most to project performance followed by CDFC, PMC and government officials' role in monitoring and evaluation, then CDFC, PMC and government officials role in project planning while CDFC, PMC and government officials role in projects identification had the least influence on project performance. The study recommends that enough funds and skills should be allocated to projects. The study also recommends that the constituents' should playa critical role in decision making because they are the beneficiaries of the projects and know well projects are beneficial to them.