Investigating Major Drivers of Performance in Community Water Projects: A Case of Water Projects in Saku Sub County, Marsabit County, Kenya

The purpose of this study was to determine the major drivers of performance in community water projects – a case of water projects in Saku sub county, Marsabit County, Kenya. The study investigated; the role of management planning, availability of funding, community participation and projects governance policies on performance of community water projects in Saku Sub County. The study used Community Development theories’ and adopted a descriptive research design. The target population for this study was 106 with a sample of 84 respondents. The study use questionnaire where quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS 25.0, qualitative data using thematic content and inferential data using multiple regression. The research found that stakeholder involvement and planning all levels of project implementation influence performance of community water projects in Saku Sub County in Marsabit County, Kenya to a great extent. The study further found that trained, adequate human resource influence performance of community water projects to a very great extent. The research found that frequency of meetings; project ownership; and level of involvement influence performance of community water projects to a great extent. The study concluded that management planning had the greatest influence on performance of community water projects followed by funding, and then project governing policies while community participation had the least influence on the performance of community water projects. The study recommends inclusive planning at all levels of the project cycle and request the government develops mechanisms to curb corruption occurrences especially in the face of project implementation.