Social-Cultural Determinants Influencing the Performance of Community Based Projects in Kenya: A Case of Kilifi County
Abstract
Community-based projects are catalysts for development in any society. They are designed to enhance quality of life for the more vulnerable members of society. The fact that most of the community-based projects in parts of the country including Kilifi County have failed to perform as expected. There is suspicion, as to the influential role of socio-cultural factors on their performance. The study therefore examined the influence of social-cultural factors on the performance of community-based projects in Kilifi County in Kenya. The study established the influence of cultural belief, social division, community governance, and community resources on the performance of community-based projects in Kilifi County. This study was supported by the general systems theory, stakeholder’s theory, and expectancy theory. The study adopted the descriptive survey design where 285 community-based projects in Kaloleni Ward which has population of 50,050 were examined. The sample size was 100 respondents that was obtained through Yamane formula. Data was collected through questionnaires. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The qualitative data from the open-ended questions was analyzed using conceptual content analysis and presented in prose. Inferential data analysis was done using regression analysis. The study found that belief system influenced the performance of community-based projects in Kilifi county Kenya to a great extent. The research found that registered unemployment rate in the project area; religion division; age division and composition; ethnic/tribal profiling in project area; disparity in infrastructure; and gender division influenced the performance of Community-based projects in Kilifi County to a great extent. The study also found that power politics in the community influence the performance of Community-based projects to a moderate extent. Further, the research found that human capital influences the performance of Community-based project to a moderate extent. The study concluded that organizational cultural belief strategy had the greatest effect on performance of community-based projects followed by community governance strategy then social division strategy while community resources strategy had the least effect on the performance of community-based projects. The study recommended that system belief, social division, community governance and community resources on performance of projects in Kenya, needed to be studied in other counties with similarities as Kilifi County. Civic education should be emphasized in order to enlighten the communities on projects.
Keywords: Cultural beliefs, social division, community governance, community resources, performance, Kilifi County, Kenya
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