Ssegawa-Kaggwa, J; Ngowi, A B and Ntshwene, K (2013) Using a situation analysis to identify the construction industry deficiencies in Botswana. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 18(1), pp. 1-18. ISSN 1823-6499
Abstract
This paper reports the results of a multi-phase study aimed at identifying ways of transforming the construction industry in Botswana into an efficient, effective and sustainable sector. The study examined a number of reports indicating that public construction projects were not delivered as contractually expected. The first phase of the study, a situation analysis, was divided into two stages, with the first validating the claims that projects perform poorly in terms of both time and cost. Project data were compiled and analysed by computing the cost and time variances. The second stage solicited the opinions of various industry stakeholders regarding the deficiencies in the industry that led to poor project performance. Based on 323 sampled public construction projects, the results indicated that 13% had been abandoned and retendered. For those projects not abandoned, 52% and 75% had cost and time overruns, respectively. On average, the amount of cost overruns was 15% while the amount of time overruns was 75%. This level of performance is considered worrisome if allowed to continue. Causes of the overruns were identified as emanating from the decisions and actions of clients, suppliers, and regulators as well as the lack of a coherent facilitation of the construction business environment. The latter was singled out as an urgent challenge that needs addressing if the construction industry is to exist as a sustainable sector in Botswana. Though the concept of construction industry development is not new, this paper underscores that situations for each country are different and models that aim to transform an industry must look at the underlying context of the sector. With the exception of one study, no other extensive empirical study has been conducted in Botswana to identify and document deficiencies leading to the poor delivery of public construction projects. These findings also provide a generic approach to transforming the construction industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Botswana; construction industry; development; situation analysis; transformation |
| Index terms: | situation analysis, computing, overrun, project data, project performance, public construction, empirical study, construction industry, time overrun, variance, construction industry development, regulator, transformation, cost overrun, Botswana |
| Subjects: | Geography, development economics, project management theory and practice, research methods, industry analysis, project controls, building construction, sociology, measurement and scaling, computing systems, data collection methods, risk assessment, business, financial and cost management |
| Topics: | Time Control, Digital Applications, International Construction, Stakeholder Management, Risk Management, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here