JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL POLICY (JHSP )

E-ISSN 2545-5729
P-ISSN 2695 2416
VOL. 10 NO. 4 2024
DOI: 10.56201/jhsp.v10.no4.2024.pg88.107


Stakeholders’ Participation and the Viability of Public Projects in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Thompson Olusegun Ewata, Yimovie Sakue-Collins, Epem Ubodiom, Edoni Harold Harcourt


Abstract


The involvement of the key stakeholders (direct beneficiaries/end users, local government authorities, etc.) of any project, at whatever level, is a key factor to the project’s success. How does the level of stakeholder participation impact the success and sustainability of public projects in Bayelsa State? This study employed an eclectic approach that involved a transdisciplinary approach to examine the intersection between communication and sustainability of public projects as well as a mixed-methods approach which entailed quantitative survey and qualitative interviews of project stakeholders in Sagbama Town, in the Sagbama Local Government of Bayelsa State. This paper focuses on the 75,000 Litre Solar Water Plant Project in Sagbama and utilises the quantitative survey (i.e. structured questionnaire) to explore the nexus between communication, collaboration and sustainability of public projects in the state. With data obtained from forty (40) stakeholders – contractors, government officials, community leaders, and community based organisations (CBOs) – the study found that the level of stakeholders’ involvement in project planning, decision-making, and monitoring are key factors of a project’s viability which is gauged by features as community involvement in project conception and execution, project completion rates, community ownership, and long-term functionality. The study also discovered that poor communication, limited resource allocation, and a lack of clear institutional mechanisms for engagement are part of the different barriers to meaningful stakeholder participation. The study recommends inclusive stakeholder engagement, collaborative project planning, capacity building and training, transparency and accountability amongst others for strengthening stakeholder participation frameworks and enhancing the sustainability of public projects in Bayelsa state in particular and other resource-rich but developmentally-ch


keywords:

Bayelsa State, public projects, communication, sustainability, stakeholders


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