PROPERTY ARTICLES

Chairman, Lagos State chapter of Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Kunle Awobodu, in this treatise, explores the dynamics of project management, pointing out that, for instance, when a project is located in a place where its service or use is not required, it turns out to be a colossal waste of scarce resources.

Discerning this title from a fair perspective brings to the fore allocation of resources for developmental purposes and appropriate utilisation of such resources to achieve the societal goals. For ease of administration, there is gradation in a federal system that enables communities far from centre of power to be reached by the lowest rung of the administrative ladder, which is the local government.

The need to create a pawl-and-ratchet relationship between project planning and implementation at the grass roots necessitates the introduction of a mechanism in the form of project management.

Experience in this milieu has revealed how people-oriented projects suffer time and cost overruns to the detriment of the primary objectives. Attitudinal factor tends to relegate quality in project execution. It has been discovered in a study that projects, which overrun are adding close to 10 per cent to the costs of original budgets.

Political influence in project identification, location, execution and decision-making generally has its pros and cons on what the people get on the long run.

Local government engineers, builders, architects and surveyors that are here today must be living witnesses to political influence in projects and the inseparability of politics and administration. Political manoeuvrebility is constant in this bureaucracy. Technical staff should endeavour to acquire the skill to manage the situation.

As rightly observed by Rev. Father James O' Connell: "Political leadership without administrative and technical expertise is power in a vacuum. "Administration without political leadership is only tidiness in stagnation. Politics and administration belong together in the dynamics of a dialectical relationship."

What is a project? A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or service. A project must have duration, budget and be guided by specification.

There are two types of Development Projects. The Physical Delivery Projects are tangible, can be physically measured with a quantifiable output. Building projects serve as an example here.

People Centred Projects are less tangible and can make behavioural impact on the targeted population as they tend to promote the quality of life of the people.

Construction projects usually command a huge budget, therefore, necessitating proper identification of such projects. When a project is located in a place where its service or use is not required, it turns out to be a colossal waste of scarce resources.

A proper appraisal of the community should be made to know the needs of the people and prioritise them. There is danger in a government official deciding what project a community needs most without being a resident in that community nor seek the approval of the inhabitants.

Erecting shops where a library is most suitable shows a poor judgment. Providing an additional health centre for a community that does not have school could be a misplaced priority.

Constructing a pedestrian bridge where it is not needed as in Ojuelegba is as a result of wrong project identification. Providing a bridge to link Olumokun Street in Amukoko and Olayinka Street in Ajegunle is a well-conceived project. Principles of project identification were negated when village roads were tarred in the suburb of Epe while roads of heavy traffic remain uncared for.

In an anti-developmental state, lacking in civic culture, personal interests override general societal interests in project identification and location. A leader having good intension should be well-represented. Where his subordinates have ulterior motives, then there would be recourse to the legal parlance: 'Delegatus non protest delegare', that is, not to delegate one's duty.

Feasibility indicators are factors that help one to determine whether a project would be feasible or not.

Physical Indicators: This focuses on the site of the proposed project. It deals with subsoil investigation and the load the land is to carry, topographic factor, access and so on.

Legal Indicators: This is ascertaining the title documents of the land and making the environmental impact analysis.

Socio-political Indicators: The sensitivity of issues such as religion and its political implication is important here. For instance, Mushin Local Government will discourage establishment of an alcoholic company within the Muslim dominated Idi-Araba. For socio-political reasons, the residents of Yaba would not accept relocation of Yaba College of Technology to Epe.

Technological Indicator: Advancement in technology has made projects that seemed impossible become realisable. Sand filling of water logged areas of Lekki and Ilubirin for building projects is of technological improvement.

Economic Indicators: These are backed by the issue of demand and supply and competitive advantage. Would there be need for the project? The Local Government at Imota is to make a choice between housing project and agricultural project. Economic factor might make agricultural project more relevant.

Financial Indicators: Cost and value considerations are paramount here. For instance, there is no need for government to embark on slum regeneration at Oluwole on the Lagos Island if the new building projects there will be bungalows. How much will be derived from sales or rent on bungalows when government has spent a lot of money on relocating the landlords? There is no economic sense in putting so much on an investment that will provide little returns.

The fact that feasibility and viability are highly interwoven makes some of the indicators mentioned under feasibility relevant factors in viability assessment.

In viability analysis, input and returns are compared in financial terms. This necessitates the introduction of techniques such as cash flow method, break-even appraisal, development appraisal, and probability appraisal and loan repayment method,

In Nigeria, project implementation could be difficult as events hardly go in strict compliance with plan. Oscillating between alternatives in decision-making process, weighing their feasibility before deciding on the line of action also requires adequate planning of the implementation. There is the need to determine the capacity of the department that will execute and operate the project.

Execution of public projects is determined by availability of fund. There have been many government projects properly identified and rightly conceived, but failed to commence due to lack of fund. The import of public budgeting is in the allocation of scarce resources to various competing interests, values and departments to achieve the societal goals.

The framework for distributing resources to various agencies with their varying quantified needs is known as the budgetary process. According to V. O. Key, budgeting is 'the allocation of expenditures among different purposes so as to achieve greatest returns'.

The interdependency of budgeting and economics could be seen in Vern B. Lewis' assertion that budgeting is 'essentially a form of applied economics since it requires the allocation of scarce resources among competing demands'.

The role of politics in the budgetary process cannot be overlooked. Politics, as viewed by David Easton, deals with authoritative allocation of values. To Harold Lasswell, politics is who gets what, when and how?

Planning, Management and Control are elements of budgeting that are essential to realising set objectives. Planning at the budget preparation stage helps to determine the objectives, study the alternative and authorise a chosen programme.

Management entails the configuration of project activities towards attaining the set goals. This will be sufficiently treated under project management in the subsequent stage.

Control necessitates the introduction of budget monitoring units to ensure that officials at the level of project execution abide by the plans and policies.

In a prebendal society where abandonment of government projects is prevalent, introduction of effective project management in people-oriented projects is, therefore, crucial.

Many government projects in Lagos have witnessed various forms of delay that extended the duration. This is an aberration in project management that does not add value to projects. There is need for government officials handling projects and the contracting firms to acquire skills of time control so as to curtail losses incurred due to delays. Registered builders, as stipulated in the Building Code Section 2.32, can help administer the right programme in building projects at the local government level.

Cost Management practice tends to keep project cost within the agreed budget. Manipulation of cost in the name of fluctuation has been a common practice in government projects. Under normal circumstances, if there is a genuine interest to control cost, an experienced Quantity Surveyor can be of great assistance.

Quality Management process is directed at ensuring that a project satisfies the needs for which it was embarked on, for this reason, a set of specifications or standards must be established for the project to follow.

Quality has been the greatest challenge in many local government building projects, especially finishings. Also, roads at grass roots level do not stand the test of time due to the light thickness of the asphalt.

Roads constructed in Western Region under Chief Obafemi Awolowo were more durable than those constructed recently. Therefore, there is need for civil engineers at our local governments to install a mechanism for quality control.

Introduction of stage certification of building projects in Lagos, the professional attestation in Form C is laudable. This is quality control.

Human Resource Management process involves the most effective use of workers. Such manpower management requires the use of resource schedulling.

Procurement Management process involves obtaining goods and services from outside the performing organisation.

Risk Management deals with project risk identification, analysing such risk and mitigating it.

Integration Management sees to proper coordination of the interwoven activities of project, especially building construction.

Scope Management is a process that ensures that project includes work required and limited such work to its successful completion.

Communications Management process ensures that project information are appropriately generated, collected, disseminated, kept and disposed to time.

In a study carried out in Lagos, it was discovered that monitoring and controlling of quality was perceived to be the most important factor for project success. That study also revealed that leadership was perceived to be the most important factor required for effective performance of project manager.

Value Engineering and Buildability is highly recommended that construction professionals in our local governments incorporate the practice of value engineering-cum-buildability in their projects to get proper value for money spent.

In project management of today, project managers, surveyors, engineers, architects, builders should sit together at the commencement of a project to brainstorm. A non- professional who will see things from a different perspective is also included in such brainstorming session.

Value Engineering, according to The Society of American Value Engineers (SAVE), is the systematic application of the recognised techniques, which identify the function of a product or service, establish a monetary value for that function and provide the necessary function reliably at the lowest overall cost.

Buildability is ease of construction. It is selection of the alternative method that will simplify construction. Studying an architectural drawing, for instance, an experienced professional should be able to know if the design is buildable or not. In Bridges-design for improved buildability, the inter-relationships between the design and the logistics of construction is crucial. Buildability is about selection of details to achieve structures, which are easier and cheaper to build.

For the purpose of getting value for money, appropriate procurement process has been advocated since the time of our independence.

Regulations guiding procurement have been in existence as far back as colonial era. Some of these procurement guides are contained in 1958 Finance Act. Lack of implementation usually derails good intention in Nigeria. Abuse of procurement process has led to introduction of various reforms.

Having identified procurement as a drain pipe through which government loses a lot of money, Obasanjo's adminstration established Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU), popularly known as Due Process.

This development was in fulfillment of the recommendations of the Country Procurement Assessment Review (CPAR) that made a discovery of abuse of procurement process.

The Procurement Law is a fundamental instrument in procurement practices, particularly as a watchdog in stemming corruption and aligning Nigeria with global practice. It provides the legal and institutional framework for the enthronement of Transparency, Accountability and Value for Money and Efficiency in the procurement of works, goods and services within Federal Ministries and Extra Departments.

In an attempt to check rampant abuse of government contracts, this law has slashed mobilisation fee from 25 per cent to 15 per cent and to be paid on provision of unconditional bank guarantee or insurance bond.

According to the former President of the NIOB, Prof. Kunle Ade Wahab, who was in charge of the Due Process Office, government made large savings from due process contract reviews of projects. The process has succeeded in reducing cost of contracts generally.

In the anatomy of Due Process in Nigeria, Juvenal's question readily comes to mind: 'Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes'? Who will guard the guards? Scepticism, hesitancy...factors that pollute the mind, especially on the struggle against corrupt practices in the system. If we do not purge ourselves of this pessimistic thought of 'It can't work!' then what we are saying here today may remain an academic exercise.

To complement government's initiative, you construction professionals should embrace the new world order in the built environment by working together as in Value Engineering Team. Primary objectives of most projects at the grass roots can only be achieved through your technical expertise and advice.

Do not hesitate to guide the politicians and bureaucrats appropriately. With such result-oriented attitude, under the atmosphere of Governor Babatunde Fashola's Vision 2011, the people would believe in you.