Abstract: This study undertook an investigation into administrative factors hindering citizen participation in development planning process in Wajir East Constituency, Wajir County, Kenya. The study was guided by four specific objectives: To determine the influence of community mobilization on citizen participation in Wajir East Constituency; establish the influence of human resources on citizen participation in Wajir East Constituency; assess the influence of financial resources on citizen participation in Wajir East Constituency; determine the effect of material resources on citizen participation in development planning in Wajir East Constituency. The study was based on Arnstein’s ladder of participation, Participatory Rural Approaches, and Democratic theories. A descriptive research design is adopted for this study. The target population for this study was 377 and the sample size was determined as 191 respondents. However, the actual sample size was 117 respondents. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the categorical data (frequencies, percentages) and interval data (mean, standard deviation). Inferential statistics were used to measure the association between variables (Pearson’s correlation) and direction of relationship between variables (regression analysis). The findings revealed that mass media had the greatest association with citizen participation; facilitation costs had the greatest association with citizen participation followed by budget allocation among the financial resources sub-variables; correlation analysis indicated that public official skills, perceptions, and leadership all had positive and significant associations with citizen participation; and no significant association were found between material resources sub-variables and citizen participation. The study concludes the use of social media and barazas as a means of mobilizing the community was a challenge towards citizen participation in development planning in Wajir East Constituency. The study recommends that Barazas should be used to mobilize the community for citizen participation; that public participation officers should be trained on communication, listening, and planning skills to effectively and efficiently organize citizen participation; that the county government should allocate financial resources to provide material resources for citizen participation. The county administration should evaluate the current allocation of facilitation costs to ensure that funds earmarked for citizen participation facilitation are used for this purpose only.
Keywords: Administrative Factors, Citizen Participation, Development Planning Process, Wajir East Constituency.
Title: ADMINISTRATIVE FACTORS HINDERING CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROCESS IN WAJIR EAST CONSTITUENCY, WAJIR COUNTY, KENYA
Author: Mohamed Mohamud Ali, Prof. Maurice M. Sakwa
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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