Community Participation and Water Projects Sustainability in Rwamwanja Settlement, Kamwenge District, Uganda

Abstract

Community participation is believed to be central to ensuring project sustainability in the development realm. Project developers, implementers, development partners, government officials and communities need to be aware of the role a community plays in making projects in their environments work better from both the theoretical and practical perspectives. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of community participation on water projects sustainability in Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement Camp, Kamwenge District, Uganda. Using a mixed methods sequential explanatory method, the study revealed that the level of community participation in water projects in the studied settlement was low. In addition, water projects sustainability was also low. It was noted that community participation has a weak but positive significant influence on water projects sustainability. Initiating action was the main aspect of community participation that influenced water projects sustainability significantly. Non community participation aspects such as inadequate external funding, use of poor quality materials and corruption affected water projects sustainability. It was recommended that governments, development partners and firms contracted to develop water projects should have a clear water project development protocol that stipulates the steps, structures and processes that build and sustain effective community participation.