ENHANCING PROJECT OWNERSHIP THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND EMPOWERMENT IN JEMA’A LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of community participation and empowerment in achieving ownership of development projects, focusing on Jema’a Local Government Primary Health Centre (PHC) project in Paki I and Fantsuam Foundation Zitnett Academy project in Bayan Loco. Collaboration between local communities and project management enhances project ownership, sustainability, and empowerment, yet despite emerging community-led approaches, donors and government entities have not made substantial strides in relinquishing development control to communities. The objectives of this study were to investigate the extent to which community empowerment and participation are associated with the development of community ownership of both government and community projects. Employing a mixed research method, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Respondents were chosen through purposive sampling. Quantitative data underwent inferential statistical analysis, while qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The results revealed a significant positive impact of community participation and empowerment on the ownership of Paki I PHC project, with p-values (0.000) below 0.05 for all test statements. Contrarily, the Fantsuam Foundation Zittnet Academy project exhibited no significant relationship, as chi-square values exceeded 0.05. These findings disprove the hypothesis that community empowerment and participation lacks significant impact on ownership. The study concludes that communities must lead development initiatives rather than being passive recipients. Therefore, policies should compel involvement of communities by government, NGOs, and donors. Additionally, advocating for Community Needs Assessment (CNA) is crucial to ensure alignment of projects with actual community needs.