SOCIAL ECONOMIC FACTORS INFLUENCING MAINTENANCE OF BITUMEN ROADS: A CASE STUDY OF KENYA NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY ROADS IN KISUMU COUNTY, KENYA
Simon Gateru Wambugu - Master of Arts in Project Planning and Management, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Dr. Kirema Nkanata Mburugu - University of Nairobi, Kenya
ABSTRACT
The key to rapid economic growth and poverty reduction is production costs Development and maintenance of physical infrastructure is, employment creation, access to markets, and investment depend on the quality of infrastructure, especially transport. Road networks form vital links between production centres and markets. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of social economic factors on maintenance of bitumen roads in Kisumu County. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: To determine the influence of availability of funding, political leadership, availability of construction material and staff management competence on maintenance of bitumen roads in Kisumu county. In this study descriptive research design was employed. The target population of the study was 54 respondents from Kenya highway roads authority and other stakeholders. The study used a census approach where all the members of the target population were included into the study sample. Census approach is appropriate where the target population is small and all can be easily contacted as is the case for this study. Data was collected by the use of questionnaires. Raw data collected from the field was first cleaned for errors, coded, analysed and categorized as per the research questions in order to simplify it for presentation. The study established that the type of bitumen, mix specifications and the application procedure greatly influences the quality and the maintenance of the roads. It was deduced that adequate prior experience determines the quality of maintenance projects. It was clear that governors Member of Parliament and senators influence maintenance of bitumen roads in a great extent. The study concluded that availability of funds had the greatest influence on the maintenance of bitumen roads followed by political leadership then availability of construction material while staff competence had the least influence on maintenance of bitumen roads. The study recommends that there is need to have all key stakeholders look at the wider societal benefits and a balance between cost and political millage balanced, that financial resources for maintenance should be increased and disbursed on time so that more bitumen roads and that continuous repairs of disembarked roads to increase their life of service should done.
