Stakeholder participation and service quality of road construction projects in local governments: a case of Adjumani district urban and community roads division

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of Stakeholder Participation on Service Quality in Local Governments in Uganda. The objectives of the study were; to examine the effect of information sharing on service quality of road construction projects in Adjumani district; to examine the level of stakeholder’s consultation in road construction projects in Adjumani district local government; to examine the effect of decision making of stakeholders on service quality of road construction projects in Adjumani district. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population of the study was 42,589 and a sample of 396 respondents was drawn from the population. The study purposive and census sampling techniques was used to select respondents into the sampling frame. The study used both self-administered questionnaires and interview guide to collect primary data for the study. The study used both qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques where descriptive statistics were used to analyze sample characteristics, Regressions were used to analyze the study objectives and content analysis was used to analyse interview responses. The study findings revealed that there stakeholders’ participation has a significant effect on service quality of road construction projects. It was established that information sharing, stakeholders’ consultation and decision making all have significant effect on service quality of road construction projects. The study concluded that when stakeholders share information among themselves, it enables the identification of weakness and strengths thus improving on the service quality of road construction projects. An improvement in the service quality of road construction projects in Adjumani district is attained when multiple stakeholders get engaged in information sharing. Further when more stakeholders are involved in decision making during the construction of a given road project, it helps in the identification of gaps during the implementation process thus enhancing on the quality of a given road construction project. The study recommended that the district authority should openly share information with different contractors who undertake the road construction projects in Adjumani district. This enables the stakeholders to have an assessment of the contractors and in turn leads to acquiring of an efficient firm in executing the road construction projects in Adjumani district. There should be sharing of responsibilities amongst the different stakeholders during the implementation of the road projects as this helps in improving transparency and accountabilities during the construction of the roads in line with value for money. Sharing of responsibilities by others also enhances on the service quality of road construction projects since there is specialization of tasks and duties. Different stakeholders should be engaged in the road project feasibilities in Adjumani district. This helps in coming up with the required design of a given road and thus providing the desired road needed by the community. Key terms: Stakeholders’ participation, information sharing, consultation, decision making