THE INFLUENCE OF PROJECT MONITORING AND EVALUATION PRACTICES ON THE SUSTAINABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY PROJECT IN RWANDA: A CASE OF RUBONA WATER SUPPLY PROJECT (2021-2024)

With an emphasis on the Rubona Water Supply Project in Kirehe District from 2021 to 2024, this study investigates how project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) procedures support the sustainability of water supply projects in Rwanda. The study's objectives were to appraise the project's M&E practices, gauge its degree of sustainability, and investigate the relationship between M&E practices and project sustainability. Using a descriptive and causal research strategy, 16,936 stakeholders including 16,858 recipients and 78 project staff were targeted. 391 participants made up the sample, which was chosen using suitable sampling techniques. Questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis were used to collect data, and descriptive and inferential statistical tools were used for analysis. Results indicate that the Rubona Water Supply Project uses M&E techniques that work. Important M&E components received high ratings, including M&E budgeting (mean = 4.55), partnerships in the M&E framework (mean = 4.07), communication in M&E (mean = 4.17), human resource capability in M&E (mean = 4.45), and M&E information exchange and utilisation (mean = 4.32). With an overall high sustainability score (mean = 4.36), project sustainability also shown a notable improvement over the study period. Interestingly, 89.5% of respondents affirmed that the project could complete significant repairs on schedule (mean = 4.76), and 82.6% strongly agreed that infrastructure such as water pipelines and tanks remained in good shape (mean = 4.55). The study found that M&E techniques and sustainability had a strong positive correlation. Strong relationships between sustainability and M&E components were found through correlation analysis. These included M&E budgeting (r = 0.722**, p = 0.000), human resource capacity in M&E (r = 0.510**, p = 0.000), M&E partnerships (r = 0.615**, p = 0.002), communication advocacy (r = 0.378**, p = 0.000), and M&E information sharing and utilisation (r = 0.707**, p = 0.000). M&E budgeting has the biggest impact on sustainability, according to regression analysis, which also showed that M&E practices considerably contribute to sustainability (β5 = 0.579, p = 0.000). The study comes to the conclusion that M&E initiatives, specifically those related to budgeting, communication, collaborations, information sharing, and human resource capability, are responsible for 63.1% of the changes in project sustainability. In light of these findings, the study suggests that in order to support the long-term viability of water supply projects in Rwanda, project management improve M&E frameworks by placing a strong emphasis on budget planning, teamwork, and information-sharing mechanisms.