Contemtious Issues on Poor Stakeholder Management in Some Major Road Construction Projects in Anambra State, Nigeria

The unwary attitude of most construction firms in mapping-out as well as analyzing various stakeholders’ interest and influence during projects execution has brought about a lot of conflicting issues that has deterred success on these road construction projects in Anambra State. Constructions sites are marred with uncertainties, which most times if unchecked may likely spread all through the Project phase. Ambiguities associated with road construction projects are sometimes innately embedded in the job description and it is very unwise to neglect the influence of some extraneous variables like some of the construction stakeholders. This paper discussed confrontational issues prevalent in road Construction projects in the State and its consequences on Project schedule and consequently cost. Based on some highly debated arguments surrounding the causes of Project delays, our research surveys was conducted in phases to capture all the involved stakeholders in the road construction projects in the state. In the first phase of our study, we conducted an interview within the concerned communities (n1 = 25). Various community stakeholders were interviewed (n2 = 298); the interview questions used in this phase was structured based on four parameters suspected to be the likely causes of project delays. These are as follows: duration of the Project, quality of materials used, environmental management, and community participation in decision making. The structured questions asked were made concise, coherent and complete enough to elicit the required information concerning the success and delays witnessed in most of the awarded road projects in the State. In the subsequent phase of the study, a survey questionnaire was designed based on the stakeholder’s arguments and interviewed response of the selected community stakeholders. The questionnaires were sent to three key different players in these road construction projects in the state who had actively participated in some of these road construction activities. The studied groups were made up of four consultants, twelve major contractors and nine project managers. Their various responses was tabulated and analyzed with respect to the initial purported arguments that characterized the study needs. We also took study of some road construction projects awarded from 2006 to 2009; the effects of poor stakeholders management on their execution timetables were also analyzed reflecting percentages of delayed, stalled, and timely executed projects. The study was able to unveil the causes of project delays and pivotal issues surrounding stalled projects in the State. The protracted arguments that led to the study was clarified from the study and recommendation were proffered that will assist both the contractors and the State government to timely execution of projects with adequate resources being utilized optimally in the road construction Projects in the State. Keywords: Stakeholders, Road Construction, Management, Anambra Stat

Community-Government Partnership and Sustainability of Rural Water Programmes in Anambra State, Nigeria

In a Multi-Indicator survey published in 2013 by the National Bureau of statistics, has shown that over 70 million Nigerians have no access to safe water and thereby projecting Nigeria as the third globally ranked number of people without access to safe water. However, the Nigerian constitution as contained in the second Draft of the National water Resources Bill of April 2007 accords jurisdiction over rural water supply to states in conjunction with the benefitting communities. The  unbalanced community-government partnership in relinquishing responsibilities in terms of ownership, control, improved service delivery and as well as provision of the required technical know-how, has become a principal factor constraining sustainable rural water projects in Anambra State for so long. It is evident from a deductive rational survey with what is obtainable in Nigerian rural water projects as against 2007 constitutional provision that disclosed dormant rural water policy propagation across the states and its docile forms of practice. Rural water projects are dynamic in nature, the choice and use of good management approach or combination of approaches is always circumspect. Community-government partnership is a worthwhile management approach that acquaint with the strength and weaknesses inherent in other management methods, and is able to use these effectively and circumspectly. This paper takes detailed explanations at factors weighing-down the success of a sustainable water provision in the rural communities in the State. We proffered a prolific approach to contain the plaguing constraints in the essential elements of planning, participation, project implementation and water policies of the State. The idea in community-government partnership is to strike a balance where the objectives of having sustainable rural water projects are achieved through proactive co-operation. Keywords: Community-government partnership, Rural water supply, Sustainability

Hydrogeological Characteristics and Groundwater Quality Analysis for Selected Boreholes in Ogbaru Local Government Area, Anambra State, Nigeria.

The extent and distribution hydrogeological and groundwater resources in parts of Anambra State, Nigeria was investigated. The hydrogeophysical and hydrochemical analysis of the shallow wells around Ogbaru in Anambra state was carried out to delineate the geologic layer constituting the aquifer, its suitability or otherwise as source of potable / drinking water and the tendency of the overburden to naturally protect the aquifer. The results show that the study area is majorly underlain by the Alluvial Plain Sands formation. Four different lithologic layers exist in the formation; laterite sandstone, clayey sand, sandstone and saturated sandstone, with varying water storage and yielding capacities. Boreholes depths within the Alluvial Plain Sands are shallow (10-50m) yet the sands are excellent aquifers with high yields (53.8-136.6m3/d) especially along the Ogbaru L.G.A. axis. The result of the analysis showed that most of the physio-chemical and microbiological parameters are within the Nigeria standard for drinking water quality (NSDWQ) permissible limits. 

Characterisation and Performance of three Kenaf coagulation products under different operating conditions

YesThe Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.1, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, targets universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030. An essential factor in achieving this goal is the harnessing of “green” coagulants – naturally occurring, environmentally friendly materials which are effective coagulants for use in water treatment, with good availability in developing countries, inherent renewable properties and ease of biodegradation. In order to gain from these benefits, it is essential to fully understand how such coagulants may best be utilised, particularly concerning their practical application in developing countries. In this study, three different plant-based coagulation products (PCPs), namely Hexane (HxKP), saline (StKP) and crude (CrKP) extracts of Kenaf plant seed (Hibiscus cannabinus, a species of the Hibiscus plant), were applied to high (HTW), medium (MTW) and low (LTW) turbidity water in order to determine their performance and coagulation ability. The ability of the three Kenaf coagulant products (KCPs) to remove hydrophobic fractions of natural organic matter (NOM) was measured. The impact of KCPs on the treated water organic matter content (a known disinfection by-product (DBP) precursor) was examined using known surrogates of natural organic matter (NOM) i.e. the dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ultraviolet absorbance at 254 (UV254) and specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA254). Results obtained quantify the implications of using these coagulants during the water disinfection process. A parametric study, measuring the effect of different operating parameters, such as untreated water turbidity, pH, dosages, retention time, and KCP storage time, was completed. Turbidity removal performance for HxKP and StKP was very good with > 90% removal recorded for HTW and MTW, respectively, at pH seven within 2 hours retention time. Images obtained from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed a high likelihood of the coagulation mechanism of KCPs to be adsorption-interparticle bridging brought about by their flake-like structures and surfaces charges. Varying pH had no measurable influence on the coagulation performance of the KCPs. Comparing their efficiency with Moringa Oleifera (MO, a previously researched PCP) and alum showed that HxKP had a negligibly different particle removal as MO. StKP turbidity removal performance was below HxKP by 1% for HTW and LTW and 2% for MTW but performed higher than the CrKP by 5% and 7% in HTW and MTW, respectively. The optimum dosage of HxKP and StKP reduced DBP surrogate values, indicating that its precursor is also minimized, although a slight shift from this optimum dosage showed a significant rise in their concentration thus signifying a potential increase in DBPs during disinfection