Stakeholders’ participation and the sustainability of street lighting projects in Kiambu County

Abstract

Although the Ruiru town, within Ruiru Sub-County, is well lit, the other areas outside the town are either poorly lit or not lit at all. Besides, many of street lighting units are not functioning. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the influence of stakeholder participation on the sustainability of street lighting projects in Ruiru Sub-County, Kiambu County, Kenya. The independent variable (IV) was stakeholders’ participation while the dependent variable (DV) was the sustainability of the street lighting projects. The specific objectives were to evaluate how stakeholder communication strategies influence the sustainability street lighting projects, determine how stakeholder relationship practices influence the sustainability of lighting projects, and to examine how stakeholder empowerment strategies influence the sustainability of street lighting projects. The research adopted the evaluation research design, suitable for assessing an ongoing initiative. The target population was 20,777 households and 17 key informants. Using Yamane’s formula, a sample size of 392 households was determined for the study. Thirteen (13) key informants were purposively selected including the County Government, provincial administration, and the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC). Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires administered in person to households and key informants. Secondary data was collected from the County Government of Kiambu and KPLC. Thirty-nine questionnaires, which is 10% of the household study sample, were pre-tested in the neighboring Kiuu Ward to ensure the validity and reliability of the research instruments. The study used Cronbach’s alpha method to check for reliability of the instruments, whereas it used the Kaiser- Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity methods to ensure construct validity of the instruments. Data processing involved cleaning and entry into Excel, followed by analysis using SPSS Version 22. Qualitative data from key informants were analyzed thematically and reported verbatim. The key findings of the study showed that communication strategies, relationship practices, and empowerment strategies influenced the sustainability of street lighting projects. The study concluded that effective communication, positive relationships, and empowerment are essential to enhance stakeholder participation, leading to project sustainability. The findings underscore the importance of structured stakeholder participation frameworks to ensure project sustainability. For policy development, the study recommended that policymakers implement a comprehensive stakeholder communication policy that mandates regular, transparent communication and feedback channels. For practice, the study recommended for the development and implementation of a robust stakeholder empowerment strategy aimed at increasing active precipitation in decision- making processes. Based on the findings, a critical area for future research would be the investigation of specific strategies to improve stakeholder inclusion in decision-making processes, with specific focus on exploring the barriers to effective stakeholder inclusion, identification of best practices from similar projects and development of tailored approaches that can be applied to enhance decision-making.