ASSESSIMENT OF FINANCIAL AND LABOUR COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION DURING CONSTRUCTION OF WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS: A CASE OF SELECTED WEREDAS OF JIMMA ZONE

Abstract

Community Participation during construction of water supply project is common practice in all corner of the world. The community can be participated in varies forms including labor for physical works and financial contribution. Absence of financial and labor community participation in the important stages of water supply project construction has direct impact on cost and time performance of the project. Jimma Zone is witnessing widespread causes of problems, which affects the financial and labor community participation during water supply project construction. The aim of this paper is to assess the impacts of causes of the problems on financial and labor community’s participation performance during Construction of Water Supply Projects in four selected weredas of Jimma zone and propose some suggestions in curbing down these adverse impacts. A total of 64, questionnaires were distributed to the main parties those directly or indirectly participated as a client, contractors and owners of the project also discussion were conducted with 122 focus groups of water committee, Local Leaders and different governmental workers. The problems in financial and labor community participation are most of the communities financially did not contribute and even if they tried to participating in labor for pipe trench excavation, they did not perform as per the standard depth & width. These results for shortage of finance to pay the contactor’s payment and the project’s activities did not complete as per the time schedule and greatly affect the project's cost and time performance with regard to the contract agreement. A absence of Community mobilization & knowledge gap on the government’s policy regarding community participation , not getting on time information, not training in all aspects of community participation, lack of professionals’ follow-up & support during the community’s labor works were the main causes for the problems. It is recommended to enhance the knowledge and awareness of community related to financial and labor participation, OWEB shall work with NGOs & institutions to provide trainings to the local leaders and communities, the Zonal & Wereda water offices and local authorities should be effectively mobilize, giving on time information about the projects and the government’s policy regarding community participation are important . The results of this study can help decision makers to identify impacts of community’s financial and labor participation on cost and time performance of the project, and make plan to solve the problems.