Efficacy of Elitism on Implementation of Public Work Initiatives: A Case of Kazi Mtaani in Uasin-Gishu County, Kenya

Susan Ndong – Department of Sociology, Gender and Development Studies, Kisii University
Mildred Lumayo – Department of Sociology, Gender and Development Studies, Kisii University
Caleb Akuku – Department of Business Administration, Kisii University

Email: sue.ndong@yahoo.com

Abstract: The implementation of public works initiatives without due consideration of elitist contexts leads to unsustainable consequences. Kenya’s Kazi Mtaani falls in this argumentation. It was mooted as a state-driven strategy to address the social and economic challenges of the youth bulge in the country. The implementation of this strategy largely peripheralized the context of elitism whose consequences have seen the intractability of exogenous influences as well as internal resource wastage in project implementation. The study was located in elite theory that explains superior-minority and inferior-majority relations in community project development. It employed convergent parallel mixed methods with a sample size comprised of 314 respondents. Primary data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Reliability was determined by the use of Cronbach Alpha at a level of 0.7. Quantitative data were analyzed using Pearson Correlation and regression analysis to identify the relationship between variables. Qualitative data were thematically organized prior to reporting in narrations and quotations. The study found and concluded that there is a significant negative correlation between the efficacy of elitism and the implementation of Kazi Mtaani projects (r= .578 p=0.01 These findings are significant for the analysis of the role of the elites in project implementation especially in the prognosis of interventions necessary for success of the projects. The study recommends the establishment of mechanisms for meaningful youth participation in decision-making processes throughout the projects life cycle.