Accra, September 14, 2017//-The World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Henry Kerali has advised members of the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GHIE) to close the gaps in the performance of projects to enable them impact positively on the lives of the people in the country.
According to him “,,,,As Civil Engineers, you play a critical role in the development effort of this country and it is imperative you do a lot more in terms of the quality of your outputs and overall performance. In other words, there is urgent need to close these gaps in performance so that projects can be successfully delivered to impact lives positively, and stimulate accelerated economic growth in Ghana….”
Mr Kerali made the call at this year’s Civil Engineering Conference & Exhibition held in Accra on Thursday, 14, September 2017.
He said: “….. it is my submission that regulation of the Civil Engineering professional practice cannot be achieved in isolation. Delivery of infrastructure and services is a multi-disciplinary affair and therefore, regulation should cut across all the allied professions in the value chain that interact to achieve the desired output”.
Regulation of the Civil Engineer alone would not entirely yield the desired results if all the players in the value chain – planners, designers, supervision engineers, construction engineers, quantity surveyors, environmentalists, supporting technicians, artisans, and others, are not also adequately regulated. This point is to underscore the fact that any break in the value chain affects the final product. Let us aim at collaborative and all-inclusive professional value chain regulations to achieve greater success.”
Speaking on a topic- ‘Ghana Institution of Engineers, Conference of Civil Engineers
Regulating Civil Engineering Practice for Effective Delivery’, he noted that the recent events of collapse of buildings, the failure of drainage systems during floods, the outcry against the quality of the road network, are a few examples that point directly to the state of regulation of the Civil Engineering practice in Ghana.
In the corridors, and on the streets, there are complaints that the designs are poor, projects are not well supervised, the right skills are not used in implementation, and the proper quality of material and engineering standards are not maintained, Mr Kerali added.
About a month ago, a prominent lawyer in Ghana called for severe legal sanctions against consultants to the Government who are found to have executed corrupt contracts by invoking the Government Contracts (Protection) Act of 1979 (AFRCD 58).
The development practitioner with an active engagement in infrastructure sectors, observed that “there is room for Consultants, Engineers, and other allied professionals to raise their game both in the private and public sectors. Over the years, we have observed lapses across the project cycle that can be traced to regulatory challenges”.
At the project concept and planning stage, Mr Kerali said shortcomings are seen in poorly designed projects with minimal technical input and wholesale adoption of standard designs and models without adjusting to suit the local context.
“Very often, assessment of project impact on utilities and properties is not undertaken or is based on scant information. Costing based on such designs is defective, and provides unrealistic estimates, which render budgeting meaningless as the project goes into implementation”.
During the procurement phase, it has been seen that engineering works and services are awarded to firms without the required technical expertise, or with a poor track record. How they manage to get selected should be a matter of great concern!”
At the project implementation phase, the results of poor planning and procurement lapses result in delays in project delivery attributable to cost overruns from variations, which lead to delayed payments, poor performance of supervisors and contractors, inadequate oversight (in the case of public sector projects), poor quality of reporting and advice to decision makers, etc, according to him.
“These performance gaps have a negative impact on project delivery and overall project success. These observations raise questions about the quality of post–qualification training, mentoring and ethical practices within the profession”.
Mr Kerali questioned: “Will our projects stand up to the scrutiny in accordance to established standards”.
He therefore urged the members of the GHIE and their affiliate bodies to have the drive or intrinsic motivation to close these gaps.
“As Civil Engineers, you play a critical role in the development effort of this country and it is imperative you do a lot more in terms of the quality of your outputs and overall performance”.
African Eye Report
