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Investigation of Problems or challenges faced by the Procurement and delivery

of quality construction projects in Africa and Cameroon

Research · May 2015

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 Investigation of Problems or challenges faced by the Procurement and
delivery of quality construction projects in Africa and Cameroon
Franklin Ngosong Tougwa

(Email: [email protected])

School of the Built Environment, College of Science and Technology, University of Salford,
Manchester, the Crescent, Salford, M5 4WT, United Kingdom.

May 2015

Abstract
Quality of construction is a key component of perceived value to both clients and contractors.
The International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) noted that “lack of quality in
construction is manifested in poor or non-sustainable workmanship, and unsafe structures; and in
delays, cost overruns and disputes in construction contracts”. Value and quality of construction
are of concern to both public and private sector clients.

The procurement process in the construction industry is plagued with a number of problems and
challenges. Some of the challenges and problems faced by the construction industry in Cameroon
and Africa that leads to the delivery of projects of poor quality standards are discussed in this
write up. The study investigates the factors that are posing a negative impact on construction
quality through the value chain in creating new capital works such as design, procurement and
construction. Concerns had been based on the principal issues like; Construction, design and
procurement related factors. Furthermore, issues like weak capacity, corruption and
embezzlement, finance related issues like budget and funding, procuring design quality, material
quality, planning challenges, cultural, human resources and contractor performance issues have
been reviewed. These problems have been identified through a critical literature review and field
experience drawn from the Cameroon and Africa context and attempts have been made to
analyse each of the problems or challenges that lead to the delivery of poor quality projects.
Value and quality of construction are of concern to both clients and contractor in both the public
and private sector. Against this background, this study has been undertaken on the quality of
construction in Africa in general and Cameroon in particular.

The construction projects referred to in this paper deals with all types of building and civil
engineering projects

Introduction
FIDIC defines Quality as all the key attributes of professional services including skill, experience,
innovation, integrity, sustainability, and best business practice. There is a worldwide recognition
of the importance of construction quality as it was part of the Egan Report “on the scope for
improving the quality and efficiency of UK construction” The report notes that
“underachievement can also be found in the growing dissatisfaction with construction among
both private and public sector clients. Projects are widely seen as unpredictable in terms of
delivery on time, within budget and to the standards of quality expected.”(Egan, 1998).

In 2001 the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) carried out a survey on
Quality of Construction within Member Associations which confirmed that failure to achieve
appropriate Quality of Construction is a serious problem to both developed and developing
nations. The pressure to reduce the initial costs of construction and supervision were found to
have had a negative impact on quality, as could be predicted.

Value to clients is a very complex and often subjective issue, but it is recognized that quality of
construction is a key component of perceived value to clients. FIDIC noted that, “lack of quality
of construction is manifested in poor or non-sustainable workmanship, and unsafe structures, and
in delays, cost overruns and disputes in construction contracts”.

The public sector accounts for about 80% of all civil works and about 20% of residential and
nonresidential building works, value and quality are of great importance to public sector clients.
Furthermore, it is the role and responsibility of the public sector to develop and transform the
building and construction industry. This transformation, however, must be achieved within the
acceptable value and quality norms (cidb, 2011). Poor quality construction can greatly reduce the
economic return of investments that can be accompanied by high human costs in terms of injury
and death.

The importance of procurement management in construction projects can never be undermined

as it plays a great role in the generation of project values and delivery of quality projects. Despite
the careful selection of construction project managers to manage construction projects, the
construction industry as a whole, particularly in Africa and Cameroon still faces enormous
challenges and problems in their procurement process and the delivery of quality projects.

Problems or challenges faced by the Procurement and delivery of quality

construction projects in Africa and Cameroon
Despite careful selection criteria for the recruitment of qualified project managers in construction
projects, the managers and entire team still face challenges in the procurement of such projects.
Such challenges adversely affect the project quality and the entire industry by reducing its
performance and outcomes.

A number of studies have been carried out in the past in South Africa to investigate about the
problems or barriers which hinder the delivery of quality construction projects. Common features
or problems have been observed in these studies - but new barriers to construction quality have
also begun to be observed in recent years. In the different studies conducted among architectural
practices and/or general contractors carried out by Smallwood (2000), Smallwood and
Rwelamila (1998) and Alman (1989), identified three main related factors as the leading barriers
to achieving quality in construction which can be grouped into three main groups namely;
construction related factors, design related factors and procurement related factors.

The construction related factors include shortages of skills and insufficient workforce training,
lack of management commitment, and lack of strict quality control. The design related factors
include inadequate details and inadequate specifications, and poor design coordination. The
procurement related factors emphasized on time and budget, shortened project periods, lack of
pre-qualification, competitive tendering and awarding of contracts primarily on price.

In addition to major barriers or problems related to procurement and construction identified by

the above studies corruption is challenging the construction industry in Cameroon in achieving
construction quality (Kenny, 2007).

Weak capacity.

According to World Bank (1994), developing countries have for some years now been investing
about 4 per cent of their GDP in the provision of infrastructure. According to Zawdie and
Langford (2000), the adequacy of investment of this magnitude to meet the infrastructural needs
of development and the effectiveness of this investment in terms of enhancing construction
capacity development is however, subject to question as in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa
infrastructure projects are often laid to waste once delivered. This reflects the fragility of existing
capacity in the construction sector (Ibid).

According to World Bank (1994) about a third of the roads built in sub-Saharan Africa over the
past 20 years or so are now out of use due to lack of maintenance. They attribute this to the fact
that the construction industry in many sub-Saharan countries like Cameroon has not developed
enough over the past four decades or so to respond to the emerging needs of local economies.
Zawdie and Langford (2000) argues that the fragility of infrastructure in sub-Saharan African
countries is largely a product of a systemic deficit in construction capacity.

According to cidb (2011) different studies have been carried out in South Africa to identify the
barriers to quality construction. A case study involving low cost housing in the Ngqushwa Local
Municipality carried out by the Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) of Rhodes
University, which investigated the key structural quality defects that have an impact on the
structural quality of state-subsidized housing was carried out in 2007 (Nobrega, 2007).

The study identified that the capacity at both the provincial and local levels were weak as there
was a lack of control and monitoring of standards in respect of housing projects because of the
limited number of project managers and technical staff. This weak capacity was a contributing
factor to poor quality construction (Ibid).

Similar defects can be observed in some low cost housings in Cameroon and some public
buildings and infrastructures. The shortage of project managers and technical staff in the regional
and divisional delegations of Public Works and Public Contracts in Cameroon are examples to be
compared to the South Africa study by PSAM. Africa is still suffering from the inherited colonial
legacy of less emphasis on technical education (Forje, 2006).

Ofori (2007) states “Public organizations must have the executive capacity and capability to
deliver programs and projects for which they are responsible as most of these are vital to the
national or sectorial development, and are funded from scarce resources for which there are ever
increasing and competing needs”.

Corruption and embezzlement.

Construction is a £1100 billion industry worldwide, much of which is linked to publicly financed
projects. However, cost and time escalation and poor quality are commonplace due to weak
governance and endemic corruption (Kenny, 2010). According to Kenny, (2007), the
construction industry is always ranked as one of the most corrupt in the world: large payments to
gain or alter contracts and violation of regulations are common.

According to the Transparency International’s Perceptions of Corruption by Industry, public

works/construction is ranked as first in the world (Kenny, 2007). Kenny went further that the
impact of corruption is not limited only to the payment of bribes but it extends to the
construction of poor quality infrastructures with low economic returns and low funding for
maintenance where great impact of corruption is felt. Kenny attributed this high rate of
corruption in the industry to the fact that the construction industry has many close ties to the
government and the industry involves complex, non-standard production processes that foster
asymmetric information stocks between clients and providers. Mohd-Nordin et al (2012)
associate corruption in the construction industry due to the fragmented nature of the industry that
involves a large number of participants in a complex contractual structure that leads to a variety
of psychological human behaviour and attitude that promote corrupt activities.

According to Kenny (2007), the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey
(BEEPS) conducted a survey for the first time in 1999-2000 covering over 4,000 firms in 22
transition countries involving Cameroon and some African countries like Benin, Lesotho, Egypt,
South Africa, Uganda, Cape Verde, Senegal, Malawi, Mali and Niger. The survey reported that
in 1999, the median firm spends one to two percent of its revenues on unofficial payments to
public officials while Construction firms have significantly larger ‘bribe budgets’ than the
average firm, and they bribe more often.
Bribe in the construction industry is made for different activities. Construction firms rely on
governments for a considerable part of their business and they tend to make larger payments (as
a percentage of contract value) when they bribe (ibid).

The BEEPS survey reported that an average of 23 percent of the total bribe budget for
construction companies goes to gain government contracts. The BEEPS report states that
construction firms admitted that they make payments for licenses and permits (although this does
not take up an abnormally large share of their bribe budgets).

Kenny (2007) reported that data from global enterprise surveys, suggests that across a range of
countries, construction permitting appears to be a regulatory area, particularly prone to
corruption and that the process in most countries is more corrupt than the process to obtain an
operating license or the process of labour inspections.

According to Kenny, evidence from survey suggests the variety of types of corruption present in
the sector ranges from bribes designed to manipulate budgeting decisions, project selection,
tender specifications, procurement outcomes or contract negotiations and renegotiations, through
bribes designed to cover poor quality construction practices and outcomes, to the theft of
materials. The evidence suggests that corruption may be a significant part of a system of
decision-making that leads to poor construction, limited occupational safety and low returns to
government infrastructure investment.

Kenny (2009) notes that there is little significant correlation between cross industry general
estimates of corruption and estimates of corruption given by the subset of construction industries
at the national level and that there is considerable variation within countries as to the
comparative level of corruption in different parts of construction-related regulation. For example
the survey suggests that while construction businesses or firms in Cameroon are susceptible to
significant corruption in all three areas of obtaining licenses, construction permits and labour
inspections just like Egypt, another African country, Benin sees significantly more corruption in
construction permitting than in labour inspection.

Despite the fact that maintenance is key to preserving the economic value of infrastructure,
corruption is one factor that puts pressure to overspend on new construction rather than
maintenance of already existing infrastructures (Kenny, 2006). This makes the impact of corrupt
payments being felt far beyond the project itself. Study shows that one year of driving a truck
and trailer over potholed roads rather than well-maintained ones incurs an additional $14,331 in
operating costs.
Despite these high costs to low road quality, maintenance expenditures for roads are low across
the developing world (Ibid). Between 1981 and 1997, the maintainable road network in
Cameroon increased from 2,700km to 4,000km 1991-1997, but in 1997 just 31% of paved roads,
and 13% of unpaved roads were in good condition. Across Africa, estimates suggest that funding
for maintenance is considerably below needed amounts (but also that what is spent is spent
poorly) (Stein Hansen Consulting, 2000).

Media organs in Cameroon have reported embezzlement problems by government officials in

Cameroon in different construction projects. A recent report is that of the construction of the
Ayos - Bonis stretch of road in the East region of Cameroon. The stretch was separated in two
lots, Ayos - Abong Mbang (88km) as lot no1 and Abong Mbang - Bonis (103km) as lot no 2 and
construction works started in 2005 and 2006 respectively on the different stretches. According to
the National Anti- Corruption Commission (CONAC) report of 2010 as mentioned by Siki
(2015), the construction of the 88 km of the Ayos - Abong Mbang stretch of road initially
programmed to be completed in twenty five months, finally lasted for sixty-six months and the
Abong Mbang-Bonis stretch initially programmed for thirty months lasted for fifty six months.
According to the report, this unjustified extended duration resulted to the mismanagement and
embezzlement of public funds by the minister of public works estimated to some forty five
billion francs (45,000,000,000 FRS) CFA.

According to Siki (2015) investigations by the Special Criminal Court in Cameroon found that
officials of the administration in charge of the follow up and control of the project received a
total of about two hundred and fourteen million francs (214,000,000 frs) CFA as bribe from the
contractor, representing 0,4% of the cost of the project. The investigation by the court has also
revealed that there was some illegal arrangements between the Minister of Public Works and the
contractor, Pantechniki before the contract was awarded to Pantechniki.

According to Pearl et al (2005), a pilot study carried out in South Africa in 2005 showed rising
areas of concern with regard to ethical standards practiced within the South African construction
business. The ethical problems identified include bribery, negligence, dishonesty, fraud,
collusion, and unfair practices. Most parts of the issues resided with participants in the
construction process such as Architects (100%), Quantity Surveyors (94%), Consulting
Engineers (67%), and Contractors (60%). According to the study, these participants stated that
they had observed/experienced professional negligence in South African construction with poor
material quality and poor workmanship indicated as the most frequent professional negligence.

Corruption in the construction industry in South Africa was further identified as being a growing
and a major concern in the survey undertaken for this study, and was ranked as one of the most
significant barriers to the attainment of quality in construction by contractors and project
managers. This was further confirmed by another study carried out in 2011 by cidb, stating that
corruption was identified as one of the major barriers to achieving construction quality in South
Africa (cidb, 2011).
While corruption is seen by many as an issue in Africa, World Bank (2011) report states that
dangers of fraud, corruption, and collusion plague the sector worldwide. Allegations regarding
school collapse related to corruption emerged in the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in
China. The non-compliance to construction regulation on many buildings in Turkey in 1999 is
linked to corruption (Kenny, 2010).

According to Olken (2004) low quality construction related to corruption can greatly reduce
infrastructure life spans -by one half or more. Olken estimates that a dollar’s worth of materials
skimped in road projects reduces the economic benefit of the road by $3.41 as a result of its
impact on quality and lifespan.

Budget and Funding

Budget can be seen as another cause of poor construction quality in Africa. Some project
sponsors have a limited budget for the funding of some projects. For example, in South Africa.
cidb reports that the national norm for top structures of state subsidized housing had a gross floor
area of at least 30m2 and a fixed budget for its construction. After the revision of the Housing
Code, The Eastern Cape increased the minimum floor area to 40m2, but still want contractors to
complete the house with the same budget that was initially allocated for the construction of 30m2
house. This underfunding of low cost housing by the South African government have pushed out
establish and well experience contractor from the low housing sector or business. The
government is forced to deal with emerging contractors who are still new into the business and
have little experience who are ready to work with such budget. The emerging contractors tend to
cut corners as this under budget cuts into their profits (cidb, 2011).

Bribing of corrupt officials in Cameroon tends to put the contractor in a situation where they find
themselves working with smaller budget in the construction projects. This drastically cuts into
their profits, causing them to behave like the emerging contractors in South Africa by cutting
corners to meet up with a profit. This can be seen in many African countries.

Financial problems in the construction sector in Cameroon usually result in poor contract
execution and poor quality of construction. Issues like late payment or payment delays of invoice
or bills to the contractor, changes in design and cost overrun. Late or delayed payment to
contractors, subcontractor and suppliers are a problem faced by the sector in Cameroon. This
makes bank feel reluctant to extend their facilities to construction companies. As a result,
companies are unable to finance their projects and expand and some projects are abandoned
halfway and some poorly executed which do not me up to a quality standard.

According to Siki (2015) there were three sponsors for the Ayos- Bonis road construction project;
the Government of Cameroon, Kuwait Fund for Economic Development, Arab Bank for
Economic Development in Africa (BADEA). From August 2008 to July 2009, it was realised
that works on the first lot, the Ayos- Abong Mbang stretch has consumed a surplus budget of 2,
25 billion francs CFA more than the estimated budget. Consequently Kuwait Fund for Economic
Development and Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) refuse paying the
surplus that resulted in the suspension of the works on the stretch of road by the contractor.
Works resumed later on only after a Prime ministerial order was signed (Ibid).

Design related problem

Largely intricate and impractical details, poor design coordination and unrealistic specifications
or at times lack of detail specifications are some of the design problems faced in the delivery of
quality construction. The Cidb (2011) studies investigated the barriers to quality in designing for
and specifying quality and highlight concerns that are being observed regarding a deteriorating
capacity necessary to develop and maintain technical standards, codes and specifications, as well
as a deteriorating design capability in South Africa. Studies in Cameroon and other African
countries will reveal same.

A review of international experience follows, which emphasizes the importance of adopting

procurement methods that specifically provide for the selection of professional services for the
appointment of design services based on quality criteria (Ibid).

The construction industry in Cameroon just like in different countries has the problem of cost
overruns in the projects. These cost overruns have been attributed to design changes (Barrie,
1998). According to Faniran and Caban (1998) as cited by Proverbs et al (2000) design changes
have been found to be the most significant source of construction wastage.

Procuring design quality

Cidb (2011) noted that corruption, political interference and institutional barriers are becoming
increasingly more dominant in South Africa. It is then postulated that the majority of projects in
which clients are dissatisfied with construction quality could probably be attributed largely to
procurement related barriers (including fraud and corruption) in the appointment of contractors
that were not capable of undertaking the necessary work.

The expansion of public trust and support for public works is very necessary in promoting the
development and management of social infrastructure that supports a safe, comfortable and
energetic national lifestyle. Therefore, it is necessary to put a system in place that ensures a good
level of quality that ensures transparency and competitiveness in the procurement process (Akira,
2013).

The cidb (2011) report highlights that the use of procurement systems in the public sector is only
based on price and preference. It does not consider functionality (or quality), as a barrier to
construction quality. For example, 25% of provincial and local authority contracts awarded were
not adjudicated on the basis of quality, and 13% of provincial and local authority contracts were
not awarded in line with tender committee recommendations.
According to an independent audit done in 2012 by the engineering consultancy firm, SCET on
the Ayos - Bonis road project, many irregularities during the studies were noted and from the
onset Pantechniki, the company to which the contract was awarded shows aspects of incapability.
The Special Criminal Court reveals that they were irregularities and violation of the conditions
for the award of such public contract to the contractor (Siki, 2015).

In 2004 the Cameroon government came out with a National Program on Governance, whose
concern in public procurement emphasizes the need to continue “pursuing the reform of the
public contract award system” (Gormley and Balla, 2004). This is mostly in principle and not
practice.

Material quality

According to studies carried out by Chen et al (2007) Chinese Construction Firms in Africa
complain of not having the amount or quality of material that can meet their needs and the needs
of all construction projects there. According to the report, The China International Water &
Electric Corporation (CIWEC) states “There is almost nothing in Africa. Although there are
some cement factories and brick factories in North Africa it cannot meet all their needs of
construction projects. In some sub-Sahara Africa, everything has to be imported”. Balogun et al
(2009) argues that steel is produced in Nigeria, Ghana and other West African countries, but the
chemical properties need to be modified to attend desired strength. Amasuomo (2014) further
assert that construction materials like clay soil, river sand, gravel and timber are found in Nigeria.
So too is same in Cameroon.

According to Kamtchueng et al (2015), increased cost associated with the use of high quality
materials have led to the need for local soils to be used in civil engineering works. Lateritic soils
are commonly used as sub-base materials for the construction of most highways and walls of
residential houses in tropical and sub-tropical countries of the world. Civil engineering
applications of these lateritic soils are continually being developed with the use of different types
of stabilizers. The stabilized soil-based products are as such viewed as environmentally-friendly
and low-cost energy materials for sustainable building applications (Lemougna et al, 2011).

The government of Cameroon through the Mission for the Promotion of the use of Local
Material (MIPROMALO) encourage the use of local building materials in Cameroon. Laterite is
then used for the production of compressed earth blocks, but the properties of these local
materials are hardly improved before usage. MIPROMALO is involved in the promotion of the
production technology and the facilitation of the promotion of the production of compressed
earth blocks in Cameroon by providing existing standards for the product.

These standards stand as a useful gateway for public or private construction contracts to be used
to improve the quality of constructions (Lemougna et al, 2011) but according to Nematchoua et
al (2015) the standards defined by the government in construction matters are not respected by
the population and uncontrolled construction in temporary materials are increasingly observed.
Cidb (2011) report concludes that developing countries are often characterized by lack of
conformity of materials to standards that contribute to lower construction quality.

According to a survey conducted by Elanga et al (2014), site laboratories for the testing of
materials are rarely found which lead to high risk of use of poor quality materials in construction
which have harmful consequences for the solidity of the structure.

Planning Challenges.

Construction industry contributes seriously to a country’s economy as it creates employment and

fetches income for people. This greatly contributes to the developmental growth of the country.
Contractors have an important role to play when it comes to the successful delivery of projects.
Their competence and capability is a function of performance and output in the construction
industry (Odediran, et al. 2012). In this regards Alzahrani and Emsley (2013), confirms that the
success of construction projects largely dependent on contractors. These contractors are
businesspersons that have greater role in managing construction projects They are involved in
the rehabilitation and maintenance of existing facilities, project closeout/final accounting, within
design and management decisions, they are equally directly involved in the physical production
of the facility on site (Harris & McCaffer, 2005). The management of construction projects
involves the procurement and management of a whole range of people, materials and equipment.
Planning is a fundamental tool in project management used in meeting project scope, time and
cost (Passenheim 2009) as it defines the activities and actions and set milestones which helps to
successfully attain the objectives of a project.

A well-planned project, which is carefully monitored have a direct positive impact on

performance and profitability of the contract and the company (Harris & McCaffer; 2005). Poor
project planning according to the terms of the contract as a result of incompetence has let to
project failures. Poor project planning has always resulted to poor project management. This
may greatly hamper the nation in its infrastructural growth process.

A good number of projects have failed or delayed as a result of poor planning which has let to
poor work definition and lack of proper project control system, consequently poor management.
According to Idoro (2012) as cited by Inuwa et al (2014), research studies have revealed that
planning has a considerable effect on the outcome of projects. The procurement methods used by
the contractors and planning ability of contracts or projects are part of the qualitative significant
factors affecting project procurement performance, which therefore implies that adequate
attention should be paid in this area (Azhar, et al. 2008).

Human resources.

The most usual human resource problem is that of absenteeism, excessive overtime, unqualified
staff and time constraint. The seasonal operation of construction activities makes construction
companies to hardly keep all their workers permanent throughout the year as most projects are
carried out only during the dry season, most especially roads construction and maintenance
projects. The workforce is said to be the most valuable commodity and described training to be
in a state of crisis (Egan, 1998). Absence of a team member often causes a distortion in the
planning of the day’s activities, reduces output and causes project delay. As cited by Proverbs et
al (2000) while D'Arcy (1995) says absenteeism accounts for a loss of 5 - 15 per cent of
available work-time on site, The Business Round Table (1982) reported that each one percent
increase in absenteeism causes an increase in labour cost of 1.5 per cent. A good number of
workers on site spend more time moving from one task to another, waiting for instruction from
hierarchy, waiting for the arrival of material, equipment or fuel than doing real work.

When contractors are faced with the issue of tied schedule and wanting to deliver their projects
on time, they engage workers in overtime that leads to tiredness and no reasonable output can be
achieved when the body is tired and exhausted, consequently poor quality work done. This may
at times even lead to accidents on site. While Proverbs et al (2000) concludes that the use of
overtime to catch up with project delays or meet up with a project deadline increases
construction costs and inhibits long-term improvements in performance, they specify that
according to the Business Round Table (1991) more than 40 hours of work schedule per week
reduce labour productivity and create excessive inflation of labour costs, without material benefit
to the completion schedule. This is the case with Cameroon.

Cultural

The administrative arrangements used in project procurement in countries today have been
adopted from the Western countries with quite different culture, breadth of construction expertise
with different experience and history (Ofori, 2000). According to Ofori (2000) the
documentation, procedures and industrial practices are determined by such arrangements and
they equally specify the roles of the different participants and the relationship among the
participants and consequently determine the network of power and authority. It is being
advocated by Rwelamila et al (1999) that the major contributing factor to poor performance on
projects in Southern Africa is the lack of consideration and incorporation of cultural traits in the
systems of procurement in construction projects. Studies in Cameroon and other countries might
reach similar conclusions.

According to Handy (1985) it has been found that every organization has a culture and this
culture is determined by its corporate goals and objectives, history, market, size, operating
environment, market and technology of production. Cultural issues in construction are always at
the forefront since different organizations interact on each project on temporal basis (Barthorpe
et al., 1999). The success of a project can be determined by the degree of how such cultural
issues can be managed most especially on those giant construction projects where people with
different cultures are involved (Ofori, 2000)

Poor Contractor Performance

The problem of poor work quality and low productivity, is common in the construction industry
as a result of poor contractor performance (Dlungwana et al, 2002). A survey conducted by
Smallwood (2000) among members of the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA)
aims at investigating the client’s perception relative to contractors’ performance reveals the
problem of poor productivity and poor quality. Smallwood found the problems of poor planning,
poor management and low skill level among the workers to be among the causes of poor
contractor performance, as perceived by clients. Similar studies carried out by (Allens, 1994;
Henry, 1994; Lobelo, 1996) agree with Smallwood’s analysis (Dlungwana et al, 2002).

A survey carried out by Elanga et al (2014) in Cameroon reveals that management is a complex
problem as the methods used by most contractors and companies in organizing tasks is empirical
practices rather than scientific methods of scheduling and the critical path such as PERT
(Program Evaluation and Review Technique) or the CPM (Critical Path Method). Louzolo (2005)
says such bad practices often lead to trial and error and to arbitrary decision-making by the site
Foreman.

Conclusion
The construction industry in Cameroon just like those in most developing countries in facing
numerous challenges and problems in their procurement and delivery of quality construction
projects. From literature review and personal experience, this paper has highlighted challenges
such as; Construction, design and procurement related factors. Furthermore, issues like weak
capacity, corruption and embezzlement, finance related issues like budget and funding, procuring
design quality, material quality, planning challenges, human resources, cultural and contractor
performance plaguing the procurement and delivery of quality construction projects in the
construction industry in Cameroon. These problems hinder the industry and its actors to achieve
their project goals and objectives within allocated time and budget and attain quality. It was
observed that in Cameron and most African countries that the lack of conformity of materials to
standards, poor design capabilities and poor technical standards contributes to lower quality of
construction.

Based on the above review of literatures pertaining to quality construction and its
implementation in construction projects focusing on the issues of construction, design and
procurement problems, it has been observed that the two major barriers in obtaining quality
construction in Cameroon and Africa are that of weak capacity and corruption as they are related
in one way or the other to one or more of the different problems or challenges. In order to form
the research direction and set the research demarcation for the procurement and delivery of
quality construction in Cameroon, two main research questions which require specific attention
have been formulated;

1. What measures can be taken to strengthen the capacity of different stakeholders or

participants involve in the procurement and delivery of quality construction?
 2. What can be done to eradicate corruption in the construction industry?

The answers to the above questions are hoping to fill the gap of understanding pertaining to
quality construction and find proposed solutions to the procurement and delivery of quality
construction projects in Cameroon in particular and Africa at large.

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paper, The Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town.

Alzahrani, J. I., & Emsley, M. W. (2013). The Impact of Contractors' Attributes on Construction
Project Success: A Post Construction Evaluation. International Journal of Project Management,
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Amasuomo, J. O. M. (2014). Procurement of Functional Rural Primary School Buildings through

the Application of Appropriate Technology for Building Materials and Construction. Academic
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