Human resource, technical skills and performance of water projects in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Mary Fedha; Patrick Cheben

Human resource, technical skills and performance of water projects in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Authors
Mary Fedha, Patrick Cheben

Abstract
Human resource and technical skills by employees of water service providers in Kenyan cities play a critical role in addressing water supply deficits, but the extent to which these variables influence performance of such water projects is not explicit. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which human resource and technical skills influence performance of Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company projects in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. The study was grounded in Vroom’s (1964) expectancy theory. Descriptive survey research design and correlation research design was adopted while Yamane’s sample size determination formula, proportionate stratified random sampling and simple random sampling techniques were used to determine a sample size of 155 from a population of 252 elements. Quantitative data was gathered and analyzed descriptively and inferentially using mean scores, standard deviation, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation and regression models and finally hypothesis testing using p-value method tested. For objective one, results showed r = -0.019, F (1,144) = 43.6, R² = 0.1459 at p = 0.01 < 0.05, H₀₁ was rejected and it was concluded that a significant relationship exist between human resource and performance of Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company water projects. For objective two, r = 0.458, F (1,144) = 29.29, R² = 0.105 at p = 0.01 < 0.05, H₀₂ was rejected and it was concluded that a significant relationship exists between technical skills and performance of Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company water projects. It was recommended that strategies be put in place to ensure optimum human resource use for effective collection of revenue from water users. It was also recommended that staff training be undertaken regularly to enhance employee technical skills with a view to enhance their technical knowhow in order to undertake repairs and maintenance tasks for effective water distribution.

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