Factors affecting project success at Katima Mulilo Town Council in the Zambezi Region of Namibia: a study of the Build Together Project (Published)
The Katima Mulilo Town Council Built Together Project which started in 1992/93 financial year failed to achieve its intended goal of providing low-cost housing to low-income earners. The aim of this article is to investigate factors which led to the failure of the Built Together Project, undertaken by the Katima Mulilo Town Council in Namibia. The main research question is which factors hindered the successful implementation of the Built Together Project at Katima Mulilo Town Council?A qualitative research method was used and six staff members of the Katima Mulilo Town Council who dealt directly with the Built Together Project and three members from Katima Mulilo communities who were intended beneficiaries of the project were interviewed. Some of the major findings were as follows: There was no building plan to determine specifications, the value of the intended infrastructure and the anticipated quality. The beneficiaries would have consulted and this could have resulted in the construction of the core bedroom houses with a toilet and shower in accordance to their basic requirements. A top-down approach undertaken by the management failed to determine the real needs of the beneficiaries. There was no controlling and monitoring mechanism and some of the houses only existed on paper. Some managers actually lacked project management skills which could not be acquired through quick fixed workshops. There was lack of preparedness on the side of the implementers and this was evidenced by the lack of services such as roads, sewerage and water at the areas which were earmarked for the Built Together Project.
Keywords: : Katima Mulilo town council, built together project, factors affecting project success, national housing enterprise