A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Leadership and Management (MLM) of Mzumbe University
This study was carried out to assess effects of community participation in sustainability of rural water supply project. The study specifically sought to assess involvement process of communities in rural water supply project; to determine the level of community participation in planning and construction of rural water supply project; to determine whether leadership influenced community participation in the rural water supply project; to investigate the influence of communication on community participation in rural water supply project and to determine whether availability of resources influenced community participation in the rural water supply project. The study employed descriptive survey design whereby simple random and purposive sampling technqiues were employed to get 95 respondents. In addition to that primary data and secondary data were employed. Data analysis was done by using a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Findings of the study indicated that, the third, fourth and fifth specific objectives were positive because all independent variables (leadership, communication and organizational resources) tested on dependent variable (community participation) showed significant effect on community participation. Besides that, the study has revealed that, community participation in rural water supply projects is important with different processes to assure that community members feel connected to their rural water supply project. The implication of the results is that community participation in water supply projects in rural areas is influenced by leadership, communication and resources availability. The study concludes that Community participation is an important component in water projects in rural areas of Tanzania. This is mainly because the projects need community acceptance and engagement for the purpose of assuring ownership and sustainability of the projects even after handing over. This is also the expectation of the government since it is part of fulfilling the empirical reality to deliver important services especially water supply in rural areas in collaboration with the respective community.