APPRAISAL OF EU FINANCED RURAL WATER SUPPLY PROJECT IN SELECTED COMMUNITIES IN AKWA IBOM NORTH SENATORIAL DISTRICT, NIGERIA

Abstract

Access to safe drinking water has been a subject of discussion among policy makers and academia due to its social, economic and health significance. Thus, the European Union under the European Union Micro Projects Programme Six (EU-MPP6) carried out a number of micro development projects in some rural communities in the Niger Delta with the broad aim of reducing militancy and improving the quality of life in the rural communities. One of such project was the provision of safe drinking water. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of the EU financed rural water supply projects in selected communities in Akwa Ibom North Senatorial District. Data were collected through administration of questionnaire; a total of 382 questionnaires were administered while 360 questionnaires were retrieved and analyzed using descriptive and regression analysis via SPSS version 20. The result of the analysis revealed that EU financed rural water supply projects as increased the access to safe drinking water in the benefiting communities. The three independent variables of training, local management practice and community participation account for 52.0% of the performance of the EU water project. Only training of the community water committee is statistically significant (P-value=.000). The study recommended the continues training of the community water management committee as it has a significant influence on the performance of water facilities and to improve on the level of community participation in the design, planning, implementation and monitoring of rural water projects. Finally, rural water projects should adopt local technology, for ease of management and maintenance through local maintenance practices.