DEVELOPMENT FINANCE MECHANISMS AND THE PERFORMANCE OF WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN KITUI COUNTY, KENYA

Keziah Nangila Wasike, Ibrahim Tirimba Ondabu

Abstract


Water infrastructure is central to improving access to safe and reliable water services, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions such as Kitui County, Kenya. Despite considerable investments from county government budget allocations, donor grants, climate finance, and public–private partnerships (PPPs), water infrastructure projects continue to experience persistent challenges, including low functionality rates, incomplete projects, and limited-service coverage. The general objective of the study was to examine the effect of development finance mechanisms on the performance of water infrastructure projects in Kitui County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to determine the effect of county government budget allocations, donor grants, public–private partnerships, and climate finance on the performance of water infrastructure projects. The study was anchored on Fiscal Decentralization Theory, Resource Dependence Theory, Public Choice Theory, and Climate Change Adaptation Theory, and adopted an explanatory research design. The target population comprised 595 respondents drawn from development partners, non-governmental organizations, Water User Associations, and beneficiary households in Kitui County, from which a sample of 239 respondents was selected using stratified random sampling and the Yamane (1967) formula. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaires administered both physically and through Google Forms. A pilot study involving 23 respondents in Machakos County was conducted to test reliability and validity, with Cronbach's Alpha values exceeding 0.94 for all constructs and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values ranging from 0.865 to 0.923. Prior to inferential analysis, diagnostic tests for multicollinearity, normality, and heteroscedasticity were conducted, and data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis with the aid of IBM SPSS Statistics version 26.0. The findings indicate that county government budget allocations (β = 0.43, p < 0.05), donor grants (β = 0.71, p < 0.05), and public–private partnerships (β = 0.48, p < 0.05) had positive and statistically significant effects on the performance of water infrastructure projects, while climate finance had a statistically significant but negative effect (β = −0.74, p < 0.05). The model explained 97.1% of the variation in project performance (R² = 0.971). The study concludes that development finance mechanisms are critical determinants of water infrastructure project performance in Kitui County and recommends enhanced budget transparency, improved donor funding coordination, strengthened PPP frameworks, and better integration of climate finance into local implementation systems.

 

JEL: H54, H76, Q25


Keywords


development finance mechanisms, county government budget allocations, donor grants, public–private partnerships, climate finance, water infrastructure project performance

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejefr.v10i6.2332

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