Public Participation Effects on Execution of Constituency Development Fund in Makueni County, Kenya

Abstract

Makueni County has been touted as having the best public participation framework in Kenya and possibly in Africa. The framework has been commended to the extent that the World Bank has recommended other County Governments in the Country to embrace the model in an effort to make sure adequate involvement of the public in county development agendas. However, little research has been conducted to examine the effect that utilization of the framework has on the implementation of CDF projects in the county considering its associated expenses. This study therefore sought to determine the effect of public participation on the execution of CDF projects in Makueni County, Kenya. The descriptive research design was adopted. Only a small proportion of the participants indicated that they were involved in the execution of projects in the sub-county. However, most of the respondents indicated that they were satisfied with the execution of public projects in the area. The involvement of the participants in execution of project was rather active where participants were given jobs during the execution of projects in the area. Concerning the satisfaction, most of the respondents believed that their influence in the development agenda of the region was either average or above average. The study concluded that public participation had a substantial effect on the execution of public projects. It was recommended that Makueni County could explore other ways of expanding the role of public participation to its electorate. This study has showed that the county has made commendable strides in involving the people in the execution of public project. Similar efforts might be needed to expand the participation in other issue such as formulation of new policies.