Maintenance Culture and Socio Economic Development in Enugu State Nigeria

Abstract

Maintenance culture refers to the act of regularly or promptly carrying out intermittent checks and repairs on assets or infrastructures to allow the facility to be sustained over a considerable period. Hence, the broad objective of this study was to investigate how maintenance culture affects socioeconomic development in Enugu state. The study adopted the descriptive research design and survey method for data collection. The population of the study was 278. The study adopted census study because the population is manageable. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested using t-test. The result revealed that the nature of maintenance culture significantly affects positively the life span of facilities, and is highly impeded by corruption, poor patriotism; poor budgetary allocation for maintenance etc. That maintenance culture has a significant positive effect on quality of lives and sustainable development, ensuring optimum functioning of public facilities, fostering sustainable socioeconomic development, and creating a conducive environment for residents and businesses. And that government maintenance policies and programmes do significantly affect positively maintenance culture in Enugu state as it plays a pivotal role in shaping proactive maintenance culture. The study, therefore, recommends that; Enugu state government should invest in training and empowering maintenance personnel through building technical skills to enhance their ability to independently and effectively contribute to infrastructure upkeep; shun corrupt practices; and increase maintenance budgetary allocation; both government and ministries should promote community/public involvement in maintenance initiatives by encouraging citizens to take ownership of public space to foster a collective responsibility and thereby contributing to sustained infrastructural optimum performance and sustainable development; and that Enugu State, should fortify maintenance policies, ensuring clarity, enforcement strategies, and public awareness with a clear guideline to instil a sense of responsibility, fostering a proactive maintenance culture among the residents and government in the state.