An assessment of risk management practices of government funded affordable housing projects in Ghana

Abstract

Construction projects are initiated in complex and dynamic environments resulting in circumstances of high uncertainty and risk, which are compounded by demanding time constraints. The government funded affordable housing projects in Ghana have been abandoned or are being worked on at a snail’s pace. Based on this, the study aimed at assessing risk management practices in construction projects focusing on government funded affordable housing projects in Ghana. Descriptive research design was employed for this study. The study involved the Borteyman, Koforidua and Kumasi government funded affordable housing projects, which included a total of 159 site managers. A census survey was adopted to sample all the 159 site managers on the Borteyman, Koforidua and Kumasi government funded affordable housing projects were included in the study. The study found that design variations, tight project schedule, bureaucracy of government, delays in payments, changes necessitated as a result of government policy, excessive approval procedures in administrative government departments, and high performance or quality expectations are the particular risk associated with the affordable housing projects in Ghana. It appeared from the study that delays in payments, under-budgeting contingency costs, changes in design scope, risk of rework, and tight project schedule can be reduced by the stakeholders. The study concluded that the proposed framework for the government funded affordable housing projects in Ghana is appropriate for analysis but it might be modified in the future as the project develops incorporating the project related risks which may appear during project execution. The study recommended that risk management technique (BBN) should be applied into any construction project at the initial stage of the project to get maximum benefit of the technique. Keywords: Risk Management, Projects, Government Funded, Affordable Housing