21 Nov 2024

Parliament has learnt that government made a decision in 2022, to adopt the use of Development Manager (DM) Model, to execute infrastructure projects following a benchmarking exercise as a response to project implementation challenges.

Responding to a question from Bobirwa MP, Mr Taolo Lucas on Wednesday, the  Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr Noah Salakae said the model sought to transfer engineering and construction risks from government to development managers who could best manage them, increase opportunities for success in delivery of projects and monitor compliance with Citizen Economic Empowerment.

He said in the past, project implementation was often delayed by among others, cost overruns, poor project quality, inferior workmanship, inadequate project management capacity and frequent project-related litigation.

The professional development manager executes the entire project lifecycle, from inception to completion, including preliminary investigations, project design, management and supervision, the minister said.

He, however, said application of the model might have resulted in inflated projects construction costs and as a result, would be reviewed to ensure fiscal sustainability and value chain re-distribution.

Minister Salakae said the top 10 projects in terms of value were mainly road and health infrastructure, ranging from P800 million to P4 billion by value.

The minister explained that DMs directly procured sub-contractors and were therefore, responsible for their payment and in that regard, the amount paid to DMs during execution of projects were inclusive of sub-contractor fees.

Though Mr Salakae said he was not in a position to state whether or not the appointment of DMs followed proper and established due diligence protocols, he would resort accordingly.

Minister Salakae was of the view that an assessment of the situation was necessary for an informed decision on the suggestion to review projects awarded under the Development Manager Model.

Mr Lucas had requested the minister to apprise the House on the Development Manager Model and its efficacy as a public procurement strategy in Botswana.

He also wanted the minister to list the top 10 projects in terms of value that were using the model and in each case, state the project name, project managers, contractors and amount paid to project managers and contractors.

The Bobirwa MP also wanted the minister to state the process of appointing DMs and contractors as well as to state whether such processes followed proper and established due diligence protocols, and if he would be amenable to a suggestion to review all projects awarded through the DM model. Ends