Project management practices and timely completion of housing projects in Kenya: A case of Machakos County

Abstract

Many housing projects in developing countries like Kenya, do encounter delays in their completion due to cost overruns. Sometimes such projects are terminated or abandoned before their completion and such they fail to realize their objectives for which they were initiated. The main objective of this study was to establish how project management practices result to timely completion of housing projects in Machakos County, Kenya. The findings were then used to generalize the determinants of the timely completion of housing projects in Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were: (a) to assess the impact of project planning on the timely completion of housing projects in Machakos County: (b) To analyze the impact of stakeholders participation in housing projects in Machakos County and their timely completion; (c) To determine the impact of risk management in housing projects and the timely completion of housing projects in Machakos County; and (d) To assess the role project monitoring and evaluation played in housing projects in Machakos County and their timely completion. This study was anchored on the Stakeholders Theory by Freeman R.E (1984) and The Theory of Change by Carol, W. (1995). The Study adopted an explanatory research design approach. A target population of 330 comprised of managers, middle level and lower level workers of housing projects which were initiated in Machakos County. The data for the study were collected from both secondary and primary. A Sample size of 80 respondents were randomly selected and questionnaires were administered to them. The quantitative data generated was analyzed quantitatively using a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) tool. Data was presented in form of tables and results revealed that project planning (Beta = 0.049, p=0.029); stakeholders participation (Beta=0.060, p=0.083); risk management (Beta=0.046, p=0.007) and monitoring and evaluation (Beta=0.168, p=0.000) were all significant except for the stakeholders participation and contributed to the timely completion of the housing projects. The study therefore recommends that for Kenyan housing projects to be completed in time, proper planning for housing projects should be undertaken. Stakeholders should take interest in those housing projects and participate fully from the time of initiation to completion. Proper risk management assessment should be undertaken to reduce uncertainties in projects. Lastly, monitoring and evaluation, during implementation (on going evaluation) and even after completion of the project (post evaluation) should be undertaken in order to make improvements where need arises.