Communication planning and technology integration on implementation of water construction projects in Bomet County , Kenya

Globally over 40 million people are faced with deficiency supply of water and more than 110 million of the worlds’ 240 million population have no access to clean and safe drinking water. In Africa, water shortages are related to both under-development of potentially available water resources and their uneven distribution while conserving the catchments’ sustainability. The country like many other developing countries is facing formidable freshwater planning and management challenges. Despite the fact that a lot of resources have been invested in water infrastructure, there has been little impact on implementation water infrastructures and water supply systems in most parts of the countries. Communication planning is the key component to project success, but the main focus has been on project management practices and project performance. The main objective of this study was to assess the influence of communication planning on implementation of water projects in Bomet County, Kenya. Communication theory was used to guide this study. The study used descriptive survey design and ideally data was collected by use of self-administered Questionnaires. The study targeted 440 respondents and the sample size was 164 respondents. This study carried out a census on 88 initiated water projects in the county of Bomet. Pre-test study was administered to 18 respondents of Kajiado County to test the reliability and validity of the instruments. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires. Regression results showed that communication planning, positively influenced effective implementation of water project with the F statistics value of 98.068, and P-value of 0.000. Regression resulted in R2 of 0.43. In conclusion, therefore communication planning influenced implementation of water projects. The study recommends that the government can embrace the use of technology to equally enhance communication among stakeholders of water projects. The study can be replicated in other counties so as to improve water services.


Introduction
Over 40 million people all over the world are faced with deficient access to improved water and more than 110 million of the world's 240 million population have no access to clean and safe drinking water. Over the years, governments, NGOs, and local and international organizations from all over the world have invested in the implementation of water projects to encourage safe rural water supply and cleanliness. However, there has been minimal impact on the implementation of these water infrastructures and water supply systems in most project areas. According to UNEP (2015), only five of the potential water resources of Africa are currently developed, with an average per capita of 200 m3 (compared to 6,000 m3 in North America). With over 75% of the poorest Africans living in rural areas, the need to develop sustainable water services in these areas is imperative. Water projects fail due to various aspects, including misunderstanding the specific context of the community or a lack of effective support structures.
Kenya has experienced tremendous population increases in the last 40 years, with an estimated rate of 2.63% in 2010 (World Bank, 2010) among the citizens. Further challenges are the fact that fluoride is found in different sources of water, with a higher concentration found in groundwater due to the presence of fluoride-bearing mineral rocks (WHO, 2002). The government has sunk boreholes, constructed catchment dams and provided infrastructure in the last three decades to increase accessibility to water (Ngigi & Macharia, 2006). Adek (2016) asserts that despite this development, water scarcity remains a major challenge across the majority of counties in Kenya today.
The government of Kenya has applied various strategies in its effort to improve access to water services for its citizens. Section 53 (2) of the Water Act 2002 stipulates that WSPs shall only be either a company, a non-governmental organization or a person providing water services under and following an agreement with a licensee (the WRSB) (GoK, 2002). Section 15(5) states that WRUAs will be responsible for conflict resolution and cooperative water resource management (GoK, 2002). Thus, it is the case in Bomet, where Bomet Water Company (BOMWACO) supplies and bills water usage in the county.
Findings by Pulse indicate that fewer projects globally are being completed within budget or meeting original goals, and there is an essential need to improve project performance. Results show that the position of the project outcomes that were completed within the original budget constitute 55%, projects completed on time 51%, and failed projects' budgets lost 32% (PMI, 2016). To enhance project implementation, Lin, Ho, and Huang (2007) recommended understanding the processes of rework, effectiveness, and efficiency in project delivery within time, cost, and quality standards. In addition to the water needs contained in the plan, the Kenyan constitution promulgated in 2010 further treats the enjoyment of clean and safe water in adequate quantities by every Kenyan citizen as a basic right. The increased water requirement, therefore, demands great efforts from the Kenyan water sector management in water resources conservation and water services development. The fact that local regulations for environmental flows are lacking means of monitoring and controlling water resources means they have not been thoroughly implemented (KNBS, 2016). Different activities such as deforestation, water abstraction for livestock and agricultural irrigation, among others, are heavily affecting the ecosystem (Ndambiri et al., 2011), but the major cause of the deteriorating access to household water demand from improved sources remains unknown. The study focused on water projects in the county of Bomet, which is the unit of analysis. This includes county government water projects, water supply schemes, rehabilitation plans, irrigation schemes, springs and plastic water tanks. In Kenya, about 25% to 30% of recently completed water projects become dysfunctional in the first three years following completion. In many areas, constructed water projects remain incomplete (GoK, 2012), so the country still faces serious challenges related to the provision of water to its citizens. Despite great efforts in water resource management and the construction of large water projects, there is still an underprovision of water for domestic use, particularly in the rural and slum areas of Kenya, because 67% of rural households cannot access clean and safe drinking water (UNDP, 2015).
The county's water resources are well equipped. Permanent rivers originating from the Mau Forest and flowing through the county are Oinab Ng'etunyet, Nyongores, Kipsonoi, Itare, Kiptiget, Chemosit, Amalo, and Maramara. The Sisei River originates from several swamps in Bomet Central Sub-county and is fast diminishing due to intensified cultivation along its banks and catchment areas. A majority of the population draws water from rivers, water pans, and springs. Rainwater harvesting is done by households that have corrugated iron roofs. The county government has protected a total of 27 springs since 2013 (GoK, BCDP 2018).
The fact that some people draw water from unprotected springs and open streams is also worrying, given that such water is shared with animals and is also highly polluted due to intensive agriculture and an increasing population. During the dry seasons, the distance covered to the water point increases considerably, reaching about 5 km (GoK, BCDP, 2018).
Bubshait, Siddiqui, and Al-Buali (2014) carried out a two-stage case study of construction phase delay control for an oil and gas industrial project. According to the findings of the study, communication and coordination are critical to the successful completion of complex projects. Communication tools impact different phases of project progress. According to Kisumbi et al. (2017) on the role of citizen participation in the sustainability of water projects, they found that citizen power and water project sustainability were not important (0.637). Further findings revealed that households did not participate fully in the project cycle. The planning stage of the project falls under the project life cycle and hence, stakeholders (households) were not involved. These studies did not consider communication planning as a factor in project success; therefore, the goal of this study was to fill this knowledge gap.
The study adopted the theory of communication as postulated by Paolo Freire (1970). It asserts that the fact that human nature involves dialogue and, therefore, communication plays a significant role in human life. Human beings are in constant dialogue with others, and it is Tipili, Ojeba and Ilyasu (2014) carried out a study in which they sought to evaluate the influence of communication on construction project delivery in Nigeria. The research was a survey of a sample of 40 professionals working in the construction industry in Bauchi, Nigeria. The study found that within the Nigerian construction industry, project communication is a key success factor. However, there were numerous communication hindrances. These hindrances include unclear communication objectives, unclear channels of communication, ineffective reporting systems, and ineffective communication between the parties on the project. The study established that poor communication led to project delays, cost overruns, and eventual project abandonment. The study concluded that communication had a strong effect on project performance. (PMBOK, 2000) opined that updated project scope, schedule, and budget are communicated to key stakeholders and buy-in and consensus are gained.
The main objective of an efficient and effective communication strategy is to advertise the organization. This is a marketing technique organizations use to target their customers since it is difficult to communicate about a specific product or service since each product is different from the others (Goozol & Scoubreau, 2003).
Communication goals are defined according to the interests of stakeholders. During the execution of the project, the project manager's ability to communicate is crucial to the success of the project. One of the important tasks for project managers is to communicate with the URL: https://ojs.jkuat.ac.ke/index.php/JAGST ISSN 1561-7645 (online) doi: 10.4314/jagst.v21i4.7 stakeholders (Tonnquist, 2008). Successful communication may not always be successful persuasion. Hence, it is a significant basic tool of communication to enable exchanging the right information. In the modern, dynamic environment, communication is still a constant and desirable for managing projects (Henderson, 2008). The research study in this area by Locovou et al. (2009) asserts that quality communication is relayed by credible, complete, accurate, and timely information for the input of the project officials.
The internal and external communication systems in an organization are very important for the success of projects. External communication is related to managing the flow of information or managing communication to satisfy the demands of external stakeholders (Johannessen, 2012). When the complexity of projects is limited, the interpretation of communication is serviceable. Internal and external communication increases when the rate of exchange is great (Engwall, 2002), cited in Johanssen (2012), who discussed the main reasons why projects fail; he highlighted inadequate leadership (coordination, planning, and technical solutions), opposition from important stakeholders, insufficient resources, and changing objectives. The communication on projects stated that project complexity and rate change when the social needs related to the project change. The importance of project communication will escalate as the project size increases and becomes more complex (Johannessen, 2012). Bigger projects require more coordination mechanisms to cope with systematic dependence.

Materials and methods 2.1 Research design
The study adopted a descriptive survey design using both qualitative and quantitative approaches (Mugenda & Mugenda, 2003). The target population was the entire group of individuals and objects having similar observable characteristics (Kothari, 2004;Mugenda & Mugenda, 2003). This study is comprised of 440 from each category involved in water projects in the county of Bomet. These included project managers, finance managers, project team leaders, project consultants, and county administrators. In total, there are 88 projects and each represents the target category of respondent, which brings the total target population to 440 respondents.

Sample size
The target population of this study was 440 (four hundred and forty), and the researchers adopted both stratified sampling and purposive sampling since the population is homogenous.
In the determination of the sample size, the Slovian's formula was used to calculate the sample size (at 95% confidence level and = 0.05) as indicated in equation 1 below; n= N/ (1+Ne 2 ) ………………………………………………………….…. Equation 1 Where; n = is the desired sample size N = is the population size e = is the margin of error (at 95% confidence level) Therefore, the sample size will be;

Data collection instruments
The data collection instrument used was questionnaires. This method provides straightforward information to be analyzed. According to Saris, the instrument used was a questionnaire. This method provides straightforward information to be analyzed. According to Saris (2017), a questionnaire is a self-reported data collection research tool that each research participant fills out as part of a research study. The researcher used this method because questionnaires are free from the bias of the interviewee and, at the same time, the respondent had enough time to adequately give well-thought-out answers.

Pilot testing
A pilot test was done to assess the capability of the research instruments to collect the required data for research. To ensure the reliability and validity of research instruments in this study, eighteen respondents were picked out in Kajiado County. The study used Cronbach's alpha and factor analysis to test the instruments of the study, and out of eight items, an alpha value of 0.472 was recorded, and after one item had been removed, the overall alpha coefficient recorded was 0.742, which was above 0.7. To test for validity, the researcher used factor analysis to investigate 8 items on communication plans using an instrument comprised of 8 items, and in this case, no item was deleted. Factor loading values recorded were between 0.500 and 0.768. Since no item recorded a factor loading lower than 0.50, the items were therefore considered to be valid to measure the effect of communication plans on the implementation of water construction projects in Bomet County, Kenya.

Data analysis
Once data was collected, it was coded and edited for uniformity and wholeness. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential analysis using SPSS and Analysis of a Moment Software (AMOS). The regression model was in the form of: Model with moderating variable = 0 + 1 1 + 1 1 + Where: = Implementation of Water Projects 0 = Intercept term 1 = Communications planning Z = Moderating Variable = Error term

Distribution of respondents by age-group
The study sought to establish the age groups of the respondents in the study. The distribution of the respondents according to their age groups is shown in Figure 2. According to the doi: 10.4314/jagst.v21i4.7 findings, 45.5% of the respondents in the study were between the ages of 20 and 30, 30.5% were between the ages of 31 and 40, and 16% were between the ages of 41 and 50, accounting for 8.4%. This meant that the sample used by the study was well distributed in terms of age and could therefore give reliable information. The study established that the highest respondents were mainly young adults (ages 31-40). This age group is innovative and creative in problem-solving and solution-finding; they are the key to helping communities meet their subsistence needs and, in doing so, improving local people's long-term security and control, including creating stable societies. A workforce composed of different age demographics thus creates an environment where each generation brings different skills and talents to the table.

Distribution of respondent by education
The results of table 4 show that the majority of the sample, or 54.2% of respondents, had a university degree. 3.0% had completed their master's degree, and 2.3% had finalized their PhD. This showed that the majority of respondents were well-informed and offered answers to the research question about the influence of planning on the execution of water development projects in Bomet County, Kenya, that was reputable, trustworthy, and more precise. Therefore, the education level was crucial in this regard.

Respondents' opinion on communication plans
The study sought to establish the existence of clear channels of communication. On whether the reporting system put in place is effective, the study established that 7.1% of the respondents strongly disagreed. A further 23.4% of the respondents disagreed, 21.7% of the respondents were neutral, 42.9% of respondents agreed, and 4.9% of respondents strongly agreed. Overall, 47.8% of the respondents generally agreed that the reporting system put in place is effective. The results are a clear indication that although the reporting system put in place is effective, they need to improve since it is only a simple majority who concurred with this statement, i.e., less than 50%.
The study sought to establish if communication between the parties on the project is effective. The study found that 6% of the respondents strongly disagreed. A further 15.2% disagreed, 2.5% of the respondents were neutral, 42.4% of respondents agreed, and 11.4% of respondents strongly agreed. Overall, 53.8% of the respondents generally agreed that communication between the parties on the project is effective.
On whether all the required information is sent to the relevant receiver, the study established that 4.9% of the respondents strongly disagreed. A further 28.8% of the respondents disagreed, 31.5% of the respondents were neutral, 29.3% of the respondents agreed, and 5.4% of the respondents strongly agreed. In an ideal situation, all the required information would be sent to the relevant receiver. This is shown in Table 5 below. These findings did not corroborate with the findings on communication strategy for the water sector reform program, which found that realistic timelines and expectations were communicated to the people in the initial phase of the reforms in all four countries (MoWRM&D, 2004).

Regression analysis for communication planning and implementation of water constructions projects
A simple regression analysis was conducted to find out if there was a significant relationship between communication planning and the implementation of water projects. The null hypothesis tested was that there was no significant relationship between communication planning and implementation of water construction projects in Bomet County, Kenya, as against the alternative that there was a significant relationship between communication planning and implementation of water construction projects in Bomet County, Kenya. Further details of the finding show that the F-statistic was 98.068, as presented in table 6, with a corresponding p-value of 0.000, which was less than 0.05, indicating that the model was significant. The model was sufficiently good as the null hypothesis that the regression model between the dependent variable and the explanatory variable was not good was rejected. The implication was that there was a significant relationship between communication planning and the implementation of water construction projects in Bomet County, Kenya. In the presence of a moderator, the F-statistic increased to 62.247 with a p-value of 0.000<0.05 indicating a better model between the dependent variable and communication planning. In the absence of a moderator (Technology Integration), the regression equation between communication planning and implementation of water construction projects in Bomet County, Kenya was expressed as Y=2.703+0.344X3, as shown in Table 6. The p-value corresponding to t-statistics was 0.000 and this was also less than 0.05. Similarly, if a moderator is included in the model, then the model can be expressed as Y=2.317+0.331X3+0.123X3*Z. A p-value of 0.000<0.05 was recorded. The finding based on tables 6 and 7 implies that there was a significant relationship between communication planning and the implementation of water construction projects in Bomet County.  The coefficient of communication plans was found to be significant. The study found that communication plans embrace teamwork in undertaking water projects. There were conflicts among the project members. It was also noted that local firms were inefficient and ineffective when undertaking project activities, which resulted in poor implementation of the projects. The lack of a proper channel of communication in the project caused delays in completing the project within the required time and hence affected the effective implementation of the project.
The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of communication planning on the implementation of water projects in Bomet County, Kenya. Communication planning is understood as the task of determining how an organization intends to achieve its strategic goals and objectives. These findings indicate that communication planning positively influences the implementation of water projects in Bomet County, in that efficient and effective communication enhances stakeholders' participation and leads to team cohesiveness. The communication process ensures that project information is always communicated from a centralized point and relevant information is usually communicated within a reasonable period of time within the project team and other stakeholders. Hence, leading to the successful implementation of water construction projects.

Discussion and conclusions
Based on the study findings, it can be concluded that communication planning in the county of Bomet must be taken into account while developing a mode and media of communication to enhance the successful implementation of water projects. A communication strategy for the water sector in the county of Bomet needs to communicate realistic timelines and expectations to the residents of Bomet County in the initial phase of the water project. Therefore, there is a need to improve communication to enhance the participation and involvement of stakeholders.

Recommendations
Based on the conclusion on communication planning, it is recommended that technology should be applied in the dissemination of information in other countries. Therefore, the study further recommends that national governments enhance policies on financial allocation to ensure the success of projects by enhancing stakeholders' participation.
doi: 10.4314/jagst.v21i4.7 The study concentrated on water-based projects. The researcher's recommendation is that other studies be carried out on areas such as road construction projects, housing projects, agricultural projects, etc.
6.0 Acknowledgement 6.1 General acknowledgement The authors are grateful to Bomet County's 164 respondents, who took part in a survey that evaluated the validity and reliability of the instruments. Additionally, the 18 Kajiado County respondents who took part in the pre-test study that evaluated the validity and reliability of the instruments

Declaration of interest
Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data, which ensured anonymity and acquired informed consent with the promise that the data would only be used for educational purposes.
The author's presentation is a requirement for the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology's "PhD in Project Management" degree. The writers are solely responsible for the content, editorial decisions made, the compilation of the document, expressed opinions, approval of the finished product, and any inaccuracies.