ABSTRACT

The invaluable role played by  community  leaders  in  any  development  activity  cannot  be  overemphasized. This is because through the  participation  of  community  leaders  in  development activities,  community  members  could  also  be  influenced  to  participate.  The  study   therefore,   identified the extent to which community leaders participate in development activities in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba district.

Related literature was reviewed on the  concept  of  leadership,  leaders  and  group  effectiveness,  community development, leaders’ participation in  community  development,  among  others.  The  population of the study  consisted  of  all  community  leaders  at  Sawla-Tuna-Kalba  district  of  the  Northern  Region.  This  included  chiefs  and  elders,  unit   committee   members,   opinion   leaders,   leaders  of  women  groups,  and  youth  leaders.   One  hundred  community  leaders  formed  the  sample   for the study. The study  used  a  descriptive  survey  design.  Data  was  gathered  from  the  respondents  with the help of an interview schedule. The data was analysed using the SPSS software.

The following were the major results of the study:

• The  leaders   identified   educational,   constructional,   sanitation,   and   environmental   activities   as community development activities that were undertaken in the district from 2007-2009.
• Majority of the community leaders participated in varying levels of  planning  community development  activities  in  the  district.  On  the  contrary,  majority  of  the  community  leaders    did  not  participate  in  implementing,  and  monitoring  and  evaluation  of  community  development activities in the district.

• Promotion  of  peace  and  stability  in  the  district,  provision  of  rewards  to  leaders,  and  availability  of  funds  for  development  activities  were  some   of   things   indicated   by  community  as  ways  by  which  their   participation   in   community   development   activities   could be enhanced.

Some of the major findings of the study were that:

• Constructional,  educational,  sanitation,  and  environmental  activities  were  the   various   categories  of  community  development  activities  undertaken  in   the   district  within  the   past  two years.
• Majority  of  the  community  leaders  participate  in  varying  levels  of  the  planning  of  development activities.
• Community  leaders  were  of  the  view  that   providing   them   with   rewards,   involving community members in  development  activities,  promoting  peace  and  harmony  among  the various  groups  in  the  district,  and  organizing  training  programmes  for  them,  were  some  of   the ways of enhancing their participation in development activities in the district.

The study recommended amongst others that avenues should be created for leaders to continuously  participate  in  the  planning,  implementing,  and  monitoring  and   evaluation   of   community   development activities since such  the  participation  of  leaders  in  those  stages  were  crucial  to  the  success of development activities.