Effectiveness of community participation in decision making and implementation of water supply and sanitation projects: A case study of Chongwe District

The study investigated factors that lead to low levels of community participation in decision making and implementation of water supply and sanitation projects in Chongwe District. Focus was on five political units (wards) namely Nthandabale, Chalimbana, Nakatindi, Lukoshi and Chongwe. The overall objective of the study was : To identify and examine the factors that have led to low levels of community participation in decision making and implementation of water supply and sanitation projects in Chongwe District. The specific objectives were : To determine the extent to which local people are aware about the existence of water supply and sanitation projects in Chongwe District; To determine the extent to which local people have the capacity to participate in water supply and sanitation projects in Chongwe District; To identify and examine the systems and structures, if any, made available through which local people can participate in water supply and sanitation projects in Chongwe District; To identify the incentives made available to be enjoyed by the local people if they participate in water supply and sanitation projects; and To determine the extent to which resources are made available for local people to participate in water supply and sanitation projects in Chongwe District . The conceptual framework stressed that for effective and relevant community participation to take place, the following ingredients must be available: community awareness, capacity building, availability of systems and structures, availability of resources and availability of incentives for participation.
The total sample size for this study was 109. The key informants were 9 and their composition was as follows: the District Council Secretary, the District Water Supply and Sanitation Coordinator, a member of the D-WASHE, the Council Chairman and 5 Councilors from the 5 selected wards; these were purposively selected. Systematic sampling was used to select 100 members of the community.Both primary and secondary sources of data collection were used in this research. Qualitative and quantitative data was also used in this study. Qualitative data was analysed by transcribing it into the major themes which emerged. Quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS).
The study found out that; the majority of the local people are not aware about the existence of water supply and sanitation projects, only a few members of the community have the capacity to participate in water supply and sanitation projects, local people do not adequately use structures of participation in water supply and sanitation projects, there are a few resources made available for use to participate by all and that the majority of the local people are ignorant of the existence of incentives for participation in water supply and sanitation issues.