01 Nov 2017

There is an urgent need to come up with solutions to challenges besieging project implementation in Botswana.

Various speakers at a project management symposium held in Gaborone on Monday concurred that given their far reaching consequences, it was critical now more than ever, to find lasting solutions to the challenges.

Officially opening the symposium, the director of the Government Implementation Coordination Office (GICO) Mr John Phatshwe said while the challenges had been acknowledged over time, it was now incumbent upon project managers to help provide the solutions necessary to addressing them.

He said while among the general concerns had been issues of delays in project implementation, cost overruns and the questionable quality of projects, there were also issues of improper project scoping, lack of accountability as well as unskilled project managers.

He also cited failure to involve project end-users in the implementation process, as well as failure by project managers to be in full control of the projects as some of the challenges that needed to be addressed.

Mr Phatshwe observed that finding solutions to the problems would help ensure that project implementers delivered projects that current and future generations would take pride in.

In his keynote address, the director for Institutional Planning at the University of Botswana, Mr Phanon Jackalas cited improper project scoping as one of the challenges that had been experienced in project implantation over the years; pointing out that to address this it was necessary to ensure greater involvement of all stakeholders at the planning stage.

He also observed that there had been a lack of differentiation between needs and wants, stating that it was necessary for the success of any project to undertake a detailed needs assessment before undertaking any project.

One other thing that affected the delivery of projects, Mr Jackalas said was poor understanding of contracts requirements.

He said more often than not, project implementers did not fully acquaint themselves with contract requirements until a problem cropped up.

Mr Jackalas also emphasised the need to guard against corruption in project implementation.

He urged people to desist from thinking that corruption came only in monetary terms, saying overlooking a quality issue because the person who created it felt it was minor, would be tantamount to corruption.

 Earlier when welcoming participants, the executive director of the Botswana Public Service College where the symposium was held, Ms Keba Nyati said governments the world over carried the responsibility to develop their citizens, a mandate which she said would be realised only if there was effective and efficient service delivery.

Ms Nyati thus noted that given the critical nature of the responsibility that government carried, it was important for project managers to introspect on the role they played in helping add on to the efforts to develop the nation.

She implored project managers to understand that they each carried a responsibility to contribute to the growth and success of the country.

The objectives of the symposium included among others, to appreciate the challenges faced by project managers and suggest solutions thereto, to develop capacities of public officers for an effective delivery of projects in the public service as well as to benchmark best practices from those who were doing it right.

The symposium, which was held under the theme ‘Delivering optimum projects for Batswana,’ brought together project managers from all sectors of government, as well as stakeholders from the private sector. BOPA