FACTORS INFLUENCING SUSTAINABILITY OF PUBLIC STREET LIGHT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA
Mark Irungu Ndirangu - Project Planning and Management, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Prof. Maitho Timothy Elias - University of Nairobi, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Electricity is pervasive in all industrialized countries and largely absent in the developing world: about 1.6 billion people world-wide lack access to electricity. In recent decades, attempts have been made to increase project success and strengthen project management through a variety of tools. However, several community-based street lighting projects have been started and failed and others struggle to survive in Nairobi County. The purpose of the study was to evaluate factors influencing sustainability of public street light development projects in Nairobi City County. The objectives of the study were to establish the influence of technical longevity, stakeholder participation, technological attributes and project financing on sustainability of public street light development projects in Nairobi City County. A descriptive research design was applied in this study. The study was conducted at the Nairobi City County offices and the population of interest is the electrical department. The department is responsible for formulation of street lighting plans and installations as well as their maintenance. The respondents were all the eight engineers, all the twenty-five supervisors and technical employees in the electrical section of engineering department. The population also included contractors and community leaders (administrators). Stratified random sampling technique was used in coming up with a sample of 174 out of the total population of 319. Primary data was collected from the staff working at Nairobi City County using a self-administered semi structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean score and standard deviation. In addition, multiple regressions were used to measure the strength of the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Tables were used to present the data collected for ease of understanding and analysis. The study found that technical longevity, stakeholder involvement / participation, financing / funding and technological attributes influence sustainability of public street light development projects in Nairobi County. The study concluded that technical longevity having the greatest effect on sustainability of public street light development projects in Nairobi County followed by financing/funding then technological attributes while stakeholder involvement/participation having the least effect on sustainability of public street light development projects in Nairobi County. The study recommended that management team of Nairobi County Government should consider operation competency when initiating a project of Public street light development.
