INFLUENCE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN PROJECT MAINTENANCE ON PERFORMANCE OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN JUBA COUNTY, SOUTH SUDAN. A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY.

Background: South Sudan has made significant efforts to improve community engagement and performance of road construction project particularly at the county level. The aim of the study is to assess the influence of community engagement in project maintenance on the performance of road construction projects in Juba County, South Sudan. Methodology: A cross-sectional study employing quantitative data collection methods. The study used a combination of both random and non-random sampling techniques. Simple random sampling was used because of its simplicity and the ability to allow all respondents an equal chance of being included in a sample. Results: 86% of the respondents were O-level school leavers, with 3% having a degree level of education. Community Participation in maintenance Stage has a Mean average of 0.7619 on a 5-point Likert scale, which is 15%, and a Std. Deviation of 0.429, which is below 1.00, reflecting a common opinion on the influence of Community Participation in Maintenance Stage on the sustainability of community-based road construction projects. 35.4% changes in the performance of road construction projects in Juba can be explained by community engagement in project maintenance. The 64.6% changes in explained by other factors. Furthermore, a unit increment in sound community engagement in project maintenance leads to an increment in the performance of road construction projects in Juba by .414 units. The coefficient is significant at 5% significance level since the P value (0.00