Abstract:
Kenya, like other developing countries, has witnessed an unprecedented increase in urban
population over the past fifty years. This has posed a great challenge to urban economies
which have been unable to cope with the increasing demand for essential services such as
housing, health and education. As a result, more urban dwellers in Kenya live in poverty
and reside in overcrowded slums that lack basic amenities to sustain a minimum level of
living. From the study area, there has been beneficiary apathy to take possession of
completed housing units, some targeted beneficiaries rent houses or are not willing to be
relocated. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of community
participation on the implementation of housing renewal programme in Kibera informal
settlement. The study was guided by the theory of community action plan model. The
research adopted evaluation research design. The study objectives were: to examine
community participation in project identification and its influence on housing renewal
programme in Kibera informal settlement; to analyse community participation in project
planning and its influence on housing renewal programme in Kibera informal settlement;
to determine community participation in project execution and its influence on housing
renewal programme in Kibera informal settlement; to analyse community participation in
project monitoring and evaluation and its influence on housing renewal programme in
Kibera informal settlement. The target population of this study was 60,095 households of
Kibera with a selected sample size of 350. Systematic random sampling technique was
employed. The researcher used mixed approach. The research used correlation test and
Chi-test for data analysis. The study established that most respondents were not involved
in identifying project deliverables as indicated by 95.7 % of responses and that locals
were rarely involved in project implementation activities as indicated by 85.7% of the
respondents. The study concludes that, failure to effectively involve community in
various stages of projects, affects housing renewal programme for kibera informal
settlement. This study recommends that strategies for monitoring and evaluation for good
quality and feedback should be devised. The study further recommended that strict
scrutinisation of project teams is done to ensure that members of the community are
represented and a criterion for selecting project activity teams be clearly outlined. The
study finally recommends that project managers and their team should hold frequent
meetings with project beneficiaries. This will open an avenue for people to share their
views and opinions regarding the projects at hand. The researcher recommends that the
study be carried out on the influence of political power and cultural factors on community
participation in the implementation of housing renewal programme in the informal
settlements.