UCT Open Access Journals (Univ. of Cape Town)
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Effectiveness of Mechanisms for Enforcement of Ethical Standards in the Construction Industry
Get PDFGross unethical conducts are common issues among professionals in the construction sector due to the heterogeneous nature of the industry. However, limited efforts are made to ensure that ethical standards become enforced among professionals in the sector. Therefore, this study assessed effective mechanisms for the enforcement of ethical standards to improve public confidence in construction professionals. Data were collected through copies of questionnaire administered on professionals in consultancy, contracting and government organizations in Southwestern Nigeria. One hundred and seventy-two (172) copies of questionnaire were retrieved and found suitable for the analysis. Data collected was analyzed using both the descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that all the ethical standards identified were moderately significant with relative effective index (REI) that ranged from 0.585 to 0.526. Some of these included personal reputation, promotion of civic right, good citizenry, among others. Four major effective mechanisms for the enforcement of ethical standards extracted through factor analysis are the roles to be played by the stakeholders (68.22%), individual (9.44%), industry (3.64%) and legal instruments (3.08%). It was concluded that these four mechanisms are effective in the enforcement of ethical standards in the construction industry. The study recommends that all construction stakeholders must ensure that all hands are on deck through collaborations to sanitise the image of the industry. The outcome of this research will improve the ethical orientation of each professional, which will have a positive effect on the general public's perception of the industry
Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts of Ojodu-Berger Road Upgrade, Lagos, Nigeria
Get PDFExtensive road project in large cities produces diverse impacts. This study attempts an assessment of the environmental and socio-economic effects of a recent road upgrade, the mitigating measures of adverse effects experienced and their effectiveness in Ojodu Berger community, a major transport node in Lagos, southwestern Nigeria. Using a survey research design through questionnaire administration, 120 respondents comprising of 50 residents, 40 traders and 30 transport operators were sampled using the purposive sampling technique. The Relative Significance Index (RSI) of project impacts was measured using 27 variables as identified in the literature and general observation of situations in the project environment before the survey. On a 5-point Likert scale at the pre-construction, construction and post-construction phase of the project. The study reveals poor environmental conditions at the pre-construction phase, which became escalated in the construction phase; noise pollution is the most significant impact (RSI = 4.36). At the post-construction phase, encroachment on pedestrian facilities is the most significant impact (RSI = 4.20). Socio-economic impacts such as increased rental value, unemployment and displacement of businesses were also significant. The Mean Index (MI) of 3.14 for the construction phase impacts was the highest compared to 3.00 at the pre-construction phase and 3.02 at the post-construction phase. Mitigating measures against adverse impacts were both effective and ineffective, while some adverse impacts were not mitigated. There was no clear evidence that an impact study was done before project implementation. The study recommended strong government commitment to environmental and social impacts assessment of road development, more robust stakeholders' engagement for the formulation of strategies and measures to address the adverse impacts of similar projects in the future
Editorial
Get PDFOn behalf of the editorial team of the Journal of Construction Business and Management, I warmly welcome you to the seventh issue. In line with the objectives of the journal, the issue presents scholarly discussions on theoretical and empirical challenges confronting best practices and policies in infrastructure and engineering projects. The intention is to understand what is obtainable in practice and whether it aligns with theory to work on the gaps. The topics in this issue covered ethics in construction, accounting in construction projects, socio-economic impacts of civil works, entrepreneurship in construction, finance of infrastructure projects and a framework on construction subcontracting policy. The issue contains six articles that were written by sixteen scholars based in Botswana, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The first paper by Akintola, Jagboro, Ojo and Odediran assesses effective mechanism for the enforcement of ethical standards to improve public confidence in construction professionals. The study reveals that personal reputation, promotion of civic right, and good citizenry were moderately significant as ethical standards. The study concludes that four major mechanisms that are effective in the enforcement of ethical standards in the construction industry in Nigeria are roles to be played by the stakeholders, individual, industry and legal instruments. The second paper by Rwelamila and Mogome investigates challenges of formally closing the final account of construction projects in Botswana local authorities. The results show that the process of final account closure was inefficient and marginally effective. The rationale for such inefficiency and ineffectiveness are contractors abandoning projects when they realize that the cost of rectifying the defects far exceeds the outstanding balance. Also, clients taking too long to agree and approve final accounts and loss of information when key personnel leave the project on the contractor's side before the final account is finalized. The study concludes that all adopted contract conditions be modified to address the challenges.
Alade’s paper assesses the environmental and socio-economic effects of the upgrade of Ojodu Berger road in Lagos, Nigeria and the mitigating measures of the adverse effects. The article reveals that poor environmental conditions happen at the pre-construction stage, which becomes escalated at the construction phase while noise pollution is the most significant environmental problem. At the construction phase, encroachment on pedestrian facilities has the most significant impact. Socio-economic impacts such as increased rental value, unemployment and displacement of businesses are also significant. Mitigating measures against adverse socio-economic impacts were neither effective nor ineffective, while some adverse effects were not mitigated. There is no evidence that an environmental impact assessment was carried out before the implementation of the project.
The fourth paper by Adu, Lamptey-Puddicombe and Opawole examines survival strategies for building construction management entrepreneurs and factors affecting the adoption of the survival strategies at the infancy stage. Results reveal that all the strategies considered are significant and the dominant ones are innovativeness, required skills, willingness to take risks, entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviours, entrepreneurial organization structure and strategies, and financial resource management. Dominant factors affecting the adoption of survival strategies of construction entrepreneurs are availability and access to finance, the poor state of infrastructure, poor managerial/executive capacity in implementing strategies, characteristics of entrepreneurs and failure to adapt to the changing business environment. Adu et al. conclude that regular training is essential for entrepreneurs to acquire the required skills for effective management of their enterprises.
The fifth paper by Tshehla and Mukudu investigates the critical success factors for assessing project finance for infrastructure development in Zimbabwe. The study grouped the identified factors into governmental, financing, project, special purpose vehicle, and politics and economies, which are extremely important as critical success factors for accessing finance and project financing. The paper concludes that there are critical factors for assessing project finance in Zimbabwe. The last article by Mambwe, Mwanaumo, Phiri and Chabota analyzes policies on the subcontracting practices of local contractors intending to develop a framework that can be used to build capacity within the construction sector in Zambia. The study establishes that critical deficiencies in implementing subcontracting policies are that subcontractors do not participate early in the procurement process and are introduced after the contract is awarded. It also emerged that no clear guidelines on the implementation of the policy are available. It is challenging to grow the capacity of local contractors using the existing subcontracting policy because main contractors are not interested in building the capabilities of local contractors due to lack of incentives.
Finally, I acknowledge all authors who submitted papers for consideration. I also value the contributions and unrelenting efforts of the JCBM editorial board members and panel of reviewers in ensuring that manuscripts are of high quality and keeping the journal on the path to attaining the expected standard and quality. We always welcome criticisms, feedbacks and suggestions from readers on how to improve the quality of the journal.
Abimbola Windapo PhD
Editor-in-chie
Sleeping on a tightrope: White-breasted Cormorants Phalacrocorax lucidus and African Darters Anhinga rufa roosting on transmission lines
Get PDFThough recent research has explored the negative impact of human infrastructure on large waterbirds, few studies have examined behavioural byproducts such as roosting or nesting on transmission wires. Here, we document our observation of a joint roost of White-breasted Cormorant Phalacrocorax lucidus and African Darter Anhinga rufa on transmission lines in the Western Cape, South Africa. We highlight current gaps in understanding communal roosting, joint roosts between species, and roosting on infrastructure, and provide recommendations for future directions of study.
 
Market Rent Determinants of Residential Apartments in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Get PDFRapid urbanisation and population growth increase the demand for housing. Given its importance to human wellbeing, the right to housing is recognised in international, regional and domestic legislation. The rental housing sector is the major form of housing tenure in Ethiopia. Given financial constraints, Ethiopian tenants tend to rent instead of buying property. However, there are no well-developed procedures that guide how rental value is determined in Ethiopia. As such, the purpose of this study is to identify monthly rent determinant variables of residential apartments in Ethiopia. Substantial empirical results from different countries indicate that rental value is a result of the combined contribution of the integrated components: property, amenities, and externalities. For this study, a multiple regression model was used for 164 samples taken from three purposefully selected case study areas in Addis Ababa (CMC, Jemo and Kazanchis). The regression results indicate that nine significant variables were determinant variables of monthly rent at a 95% confidence interval. This study may contribute decisive information for Ethiopian property managers, real estate developers, income tax assessors, real property owners, lending institutions and other interested real estate professionals. It allows these stakeholders to more accurately estimate the monthly rental value and market value of properties for their business evaluation
BirdPix - report on the photographic atlas of the birds of Nigeria, 2012 – 2019
Get PDFThis paper describes progress with the atlas of birds of Nigeria, from 7 March 2012 to 15 December 2019. The database of the project contained 658 records of 246 species submitted to the BirdPix section of the Virtual Museum. The BirdPix section of the Virtual Museum was launched in 2012 and is a supplementary data capture project for the African Bird Atlas. Over this period, for Nigeria, twelve citizen scientists contributed records to BirdPix. The most frequently recorded species were Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis (769 records across its range, with 12in Nigeria, from 12 grid cells), and Northern Red Bishop Euplectes franciscanus (30 records across the range, and recorded in 11 grid cells in Nigeria). At least two photographs of species range extensions had been submitted. This paper highlights the role of citizen science in biodiversity conservation and provides up-to-date information on the species distribution maps and lists of bird species recorded in the grid cells. Without a doubt, the BirdPix database will only be comprehensive if it contains the entire knowledge base of the species occurring within each grid cell. Data generated in the BirdPix project can be used for monitoring and modelling changes in species distributions over time. Increased awareness of the concept of citizen science and increased volunteer recruitment should be top priorities.
 
Editorial
Get PDFWelcome to the Volume 4 (2019) Issue 2 edition of the Journal of African Real Estate Research (JARER). So far, JARER has been providing valuable resources supporting academics and professional researchers throughout the African continent. The journal continues to offer an exciting platform for the dissemination of scholarships and the different types of applied research within the real estate sector in Africa. JARER reflects one of the objectives of the African Real Estate Society (AfRES) to promote research and education among property professionals and academics across the continent. We have undergone some recent changes at JARER with the reconstitution of the Editorial Board to bring in greater diversity to the journal. This issue represents the final issue with the existing Editorial Board, and I would like to take this opportunity to show my gratitude to the hard work and dedication that it has demonstrated in ensuring the success of JARER to date. The achievements we have accomplished could not have been down without them. Thank you
Organisers’ Announcement: Future Leaders of the African Real Estate Society
Get PDFThe African Real Estate Society (AfRES), founded in 1997 seeks to promote networking, research and education among property professionals across Africa. In recent years AfRES has witnessed a number of challenges to its objectives. One of the most critical of these challenges is the decline in new members and an aging membership. In this paper we highlight the creation of the Future Leaders of the African Real Estate Society (FLAfRES). The inauguration and creation of FLAfRES is to promote active participation among early career academics, researchers and professionals; and promote volunteering and create a structural pathway to mentor the next crop of AfRES leaders. We examine the need for FLAfRES, the structure, its fit within AfRES and strategies to explicitly involve younger members in the succession plans of the society
Editorial
Get PDFWelcome to volume five, issue two of the Journal of African Real Estate Research (JARER). As noted in the editorial of the first issue this year, JARER continues to be a significant medium through which research on African real estate markets is disseminated. We are witnessing an increasing trend in the rate of submissions and the review turnover timing is becoming more encouraging. Our appreciation goes to our reviewers and editorial board who have, despite the unforeseen challenges this year has brough, have dedicated their time and efforts to make this issue possible. We thank the board members of the African Real Estate Society, the Library services at the University of Cape Town, and Managing Editor, Luke Boyle from the Urban Real Estate Research, who has been working diligently in managing the publication process. In addition, we appreciate the support provided by IRES, ERES and Prof. Karl-Werner Schulte and his team from the IREBS at Regensburg University. The special issue focussing on showcasing real estate related research spearheaded by African women is progressing nicely. The special issue has attracted a number of submissions, mostly from new authors, and we are encouraged by the broadening support of the journal that this has demonstrated. Guest editors, Karen Gibler and Geci Karuri-Sebina, have worked tirelessly in coordinating the special issue and providing mentorship to the authors. Most of the articles are in their advanced stages and the issue is on track for publication before June 2021
Contingency Management in Indian Construction Projects
Get PDFThe successful completion of Indian construction projects possesses an inherent uncertainty due to the nature of the construction industry along with prevailing tepid recovery of the Indian economy, which has made it difficult for construction companies to achieve required operational and financial performance. This necessitates having accurate project cost estimation and efficient contingency management to shield unknown project risk and address cost overrun problems. Therefore, this study aims to assess the current state, the issues faced in contingency management and evaluating the effectiveness of contingency in overcoming cost overrun problems in Indian construction companies. The study preferred a quantitative approach in capturing the required data by using structured questionnaires collected from 100 Indian construction companies (of contractors, vendors/suppliers, customers, and consultants) out of 335 companies with a response rate of 29.85%. This, along with archival data analysis of 50 Indian construction projects completed between Calendar Year (CY) 2014 to 2019. The captured data were analysed using simple statistical tools like Relative Importance Index (RII), mean score, standard deviation and ranking methods to ensure relevant results aligned with research objectives. The result findings of the study revealed that 60% of Indian construction companies preferred the traditional percentage method for contingency sum percentage addition to estimated project cost (a subjective approach based on the historical project performance) which may not be adequate in overcoming cost overrun problems. Archival data analysis found that contingency consideration was effective in accommodating cost overrun problems in 9 (18%) projects out of 50 projects. The study further found that contingency was utilised in an unplanned mode and having unclear contingency forecasting strategies. Based on result findings and observations, this study concludes that contingency should be estimated based on the scientific approach in place of a subjective approach to address project risks adequately, this along contingency consideration should be an integral part of the project risk assessment and should be effectively utilised during the execution stage.
Keywords: Contingency, Cost Overruns, Indian Construction Projects, Operational and Financial Performance, Project Risk