IMPACT OF DEVOLVED CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PROCESS ON QUALITY OF PUBLIC BUILDING PROJECTS IN KENYA; A CASE OF BUSIA COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

The concerns have been expressed by stakeholders in construction industry that construction sector is critical in economic development in Kenya and yet there are frequent instances of buildings collapsing leading to loss of life and property. The major cause to the collapsing of the buildings was identified as non-procedural process executed by private developers who failed to seek approvals and technical input as required by law. The problem of paradigm shift in governance is that every sector has to adjust to fit in the new system of governance. Under devolution, the construction management process of public building projects has been devolved and managed by the committees at the grassroots. This study envisaged non-procedural and uncoordinated construction management process of public building projects in devolved units. Upon this concern, a case study was carried out in Busia County (a devolved unit that experienced the collapse of buildings and perimeter walls) to investigate the construction process of sixty four public building projects. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to assess the level of compliance to professional construction management process by four construction parties (Public Works Officers, Procurement Officers, Contractors and Project Management Committees/Clients).The theoretical framework model was developed to guide the study. In this model the roles and responsibilities of the system were given alongside the actors. The role and responsibilities of the four parties in the construction process of the public building projects formed the independent variables of the study. The quality of the projects was the dependent variable of the study. Random and purposive sampling techniques were employed to obtain sample size. Data was collected through use of questionnaires, interviews and observation check lists. Data was statistically analyzed by use of descriptive statistics and chi-square good-for-fit tests. The findings of thestudy revealed inadequate participation, compliance to specifications and standards and legal framework by the construction parities in the construction process of the public building projects by devolved units. The study concludes that the devolved construction management process is non-procedural and uncoordinated compared to centralized construction management process that is used for national public projects. The non-procedural and uncoordinated construction management process show lack of quality management, professionalism and legal framework which are the major contributing agents of poor quality projects. The study recommends sensitization of the stakeholders in the construction sector on the roles and responsibilities of the construction parties so as to appreciate and respect professionalism in the construction of the devolved projects. The devolved construction management process impacts negatively the quality of public building projects and the government should review the current practices in orderto inject professionalism and quality management in the construction process of devolved projects. This in turn will lead to quality projects and avoid the persistency collapsing of private buildings being extended to public buildings by devolved units.