Assessing the effectiveness of contract management in achieving value for money in the Procurement of works in the public sector: The perspective of GhIS, GIE & GIOC
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Date
2021-06-30
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Abstract
Over the years, the government has lost millions of the tax payer's money through poor service or
poor product delivery, corruption and extended contract periods, unfinished projects and cancelled
contracts. Managing contracts in the past had little emphasis on its involvement in the achievement
of value for money. This has triggered the need to assess the area of contract management in the
procurement cycle on achieving value for money. This study focuses on identifying the gaps and
providing more knowledge on how procurement contracts are formulated, implemented and
administered in order to achieve value for money in the public procurement of works. To achieve
this, professionals from three institutions (GhIS, GIE and GIOC) who had over ten years of
experience were purposively chosen to take part in a semi- structured interview to ascertain how
some practices were adopted in contract management to achieve value for money in the public
procurement of works. From the interviews, it was noticed that procurement proceedings and
processes were adequately followed although there was still room for improvement. The results
also highlighted some practices that were implemented and enforced to ensure value for money
such as the retention fund, regular site meetings, the use of certificates, the defects liability period
and the Liquidated Damages etc. The results also revealed the role of the Quantity Surveyor as an
enforcer and verifier of the works done to attain value for money. As recommendations,
procurement procedures and guidelines should be effectively followed to ensure that there is value
for money. Clients should also liaise with the appropriate personnel to ensure that works are
completed according to specifications before certificates are honoured. Also, clients must release
funds on timely basis and frequent variations to works should be minimized. Contractors must
comply with specifications given by the client, and must also engage only skilled personnel in the
works. These suggestions and more are emphasized in this study in an attempt to educate all in the
procurement and construction fields on the attainment of value for money in the procurement of
works
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Department of Building Technology, College of Art and Built Environment in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science.
Keywords
Value for Money, Contract Management, Public Procurement, Works Contracts, Contract Administration