Stakeholder perceptions on causes and effects of public project failures in Ghana

Abstract

Factors responsible for the failure of most development projects are multifaceted. This study focused on unearthing the causes and effects of public project failure from the perspective of project stakeholders. Sixty stakeholders working on different public projects in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana completed a questionnaire. This study found that major causes of project failure were related to corruption, payment delays, procurement processes, planning, monitoring, bureaucracy, communication, and supervision. The perceived effects of project failure included revenue loss, discouraged investment, and unemployment. Project failure increased the initial cost of projects, impacted economic growth, led to the provision of substandard infrastructure and service relocation. Other effects of project failure were loss of capacity for public projects and emotional stress experienced by project stakeholders. The government of Ghana should adopt strategies to overcome corruption, bureaucracy, and unnecessary political influence. Finally, the government should cooperate with relevant stakeholders to implement measures geared towards improving the current system for procurement, supervision, monitoring, planning, and management practices.

An Assessment of Failed Government Projects in Low Resource Countries: A Systematic Review

“…The fruitful implementation of a project depends in part on the effective utilization of Management principles. Therefore poor management is a recipe for failure since it reflects in every aspect of project management (Azeez-Ahamed & Asadi, 2017;Dick-Sagoe, Yiu, Odoom, Otiwaa Boateng, 2023). Again, institutional challenges and bottlenecks also influence the status of the project.…”

The Impact of Project Management Tools on Project Results: Evaluation of a Survey Among Managers Leading International Development Projects for four selected Central and Eastern European Donors

“…Due to the high diversity of the ID sector, each project is unique, and it is thus impossible to define clear one-size-fits-all criteria for project success or failure (Dick-Sagoe et al, 2023, Zuofa and Ochieng, 2014, Damoah et al, 2015. Traditionally, the success of a project was determined by its internal performance, i.e., by the result of the three Iron Triangle components: the completion of the project within its planned budget, schedule and with the defined scope (Dick-Sagoe et al, 2023, Damoah et al, 2015, Daniel and Ibrahim, 2019, Ikechukwu and Ozuzu, 2021, Zuofa and Ochieng, 2014.…”

“…Due to the high diversity of the ID sector, each project is unique, and it is thus impossible to define clear one-size-fits-all criteria for project success or failure (Dick-Sagoe et al, 2023, Zuofa and Ochieng, 2014, Damoah et al, 2015. Traditionally, the success of a project was determined by its internal performance, i.e., by the result of the three Iron Triangle components: the completion of the project within its planned budget, schedule and with the defined scope (Dick-Sagoe et al, 2023, Damoah et al, 2015, Daniel and Ibrahim, 2019, Ikechukwu and Ozuzu, 2021, Zuofa and Ochieng, 2014. However, the current evaluation approach takes into account the external performance of the project as an ID project might perform perfectly well in terms of its budget, schedule and scope but still end up as a complete failure because it did not deliver the anticipated long-term impact and benefits to the aid-receivers (Boakye and Liu, 2017, Eja and Ramegowda, 2020, Zuofa and Ochieng, 2014.).…”

“…There is no conclusive list of the external evaluation criteria to monitor as these are highly dependent on the project goals and scope. Nevertheless, literature suggests several general measures to consider, such as the contribution to the sector and national development in the aid-receiving country (Damoah et al, 2015), economic sustainability after the project end (Golini et al, 2015), stakeholder involvement and satisfaction (Golini et al, 2015, Dick-Sagoe et al, 2023, Daniel and Ibrahim, 2019, Zuofa and Ochieng, 2014, Nzekwe et al, 2015, achievement of minimum return of investment (Dick-Sagoe et al, 2023) and other.…”