Assessing the level of stakeholders’ participation in project risk management in mineral exploration in Kenya. A case of tullow oil in Turkana county

Abstract

Active participation of stakeholders in project risk management is essential for any large scale development project. Where the participation of stakeholders is not satisfactory, confusion, uncertainty and in extreme cases civil uprising are normally the outcome. The study sought to assess the level of participation of stakeholders in Project Risk Management .A case of Tullow Oil in Turkana County. The study was guided by four objectives namely; to establish the activities which stakeholders participate in project risk management, to establish the factors that influence the level of participation of stakeholders in project risk management, to assess the contribution of stakeholders towards project risk management and to identify the challenges that affect stakeholder’s participation in project risk management.This study usedexploratory researchdesign. The target population of this study comprised of the Community living in Turkana south sub-county, private sector involved in oil exploration and government Agency. The study used a total sample size of 186 respondents which was determined by use of Fischer equation (n=Z2pq/e2). In addition to this, ten (10) key informants were purposely selected for data triangulation.This study used questionnaires as the data collection instruments. The questionnaire comprised of both open and close ended questions with a threshold coefficient of 0.60 on Cronbach Alpha reliability test. The data was collected using self-administered questionnaires through drop and pick later method where the researcher delivered the questionnaires in person at the respondents’ places of work. Before embarking on data analysis, the questionnaires collected from the field were inspected for completeness, coded, and entered into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for analysis. SPSS version 21.0 analysis program was used to analyse the quantitative data while content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data.The key findings were stakeholders’ participate actively in project risk management oriented activities which are tagged to a monetary value. The study demonstrate a link between the level of participation and civic responsibility which ensures project stability. The study concluded that there is a positive and significant relationship between the level of participation and security. The more insecurity in the region the less the level of participation in project risk management. Recommendations were that interventions targeting holistic publicity of other project risk management activities other than tendering process should be intensified, the government should scale up security operation in the region to get rid of illegal small arms and light weapon which has pose great security threat and the need for community investment models to prepare the community for natural resource management.