Dynamics of Public Participation on Sustainable Resource Management in County Government of Kericho, Kenya

Sustainable resource management involve managing resources in a way that their sources are not depleted; so that the future generations can also benefit from it. Africa is endowed with diverse and abundant natural resources and stands at a critical juncture where responsible and sustainable management of these resources is paramount for the continent's development. The Kenyan governments (national-level and county-level) recognize the need for sustainable resource management for the good of the citizens. In devolved government units in Kenya, sustainable resource management is a critical. This study sought to assess the dynamics of public participation on sustainable resource management in county government of Kericho, Kenya. The study was guided by Resource-based view theory, administrative theory, transformational leadership theory and the theory of Planned Behaviour. This study adopted a pragmatism approach that took a practical and flexible approach, focusing on the usefulness and applicability of research findings, rather than an all-or-nothing, mutually exclusive philosophical position. A descriptive research design with a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative data collections was adopted. The target population of the study comprised a total of 213 senior, middle and lower level management staff of the county government of Kericho. The Stratified random sampling was used to develop a sample from different management groups. A sample of 139 management staff was selected using Slovin’s formula. Reliability of the study was ensured by conducting a pilot study in the neighbouring County Government of Nakuru while context, content and criterion validity were ascertained by the researcher in the field of study. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics which described the nature of ethical leadership and sustainable resource management. Inferential statistics (Pearson’s correlation and regression analysis) were used to determine the nature of influence between the variables. This was done with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Qualitative data was analysed by themes and content analysis. The study findings revealed that, public participation had a statistically significant influence on sustainable resource management. The study concluded that there exists a strong and significant relationship between public participation (r=0.832 and p=0.000) and sustainable resource management in Kericho County, Kenya. The study recommends that in order to enhance public participation members of the public should be empowered by giving the information and documents containing information on development activities and legislations that require their input in advance so that they know and understand what they are coming to do in public forums.