QUALITY OF YOUR PROJECT WORK MATTERS!
Eng. Prof. Zaipuna O. Yonah
21st April, 2025
Recently, the media has presented evidence of the country’s demand for PM and M&E skills. On 30th March 2022, one social media reported: “Samia: Here’s What Ails My Government. The Head of State names poor management, the lack of proper coordination, and weak evaluation and monitoring mechanisms as issues that demand urgent redress”. Then, on 09th April 2023, another social media reported: “CAG uncovers weaknesses in project management.” As a trained and certified PM or M&E practitioner, you will identify such weaknesses and chat a way to address them. The totality of the weaknesses makes up what ails the Government.
The weaknesses include (i) Lack of monitoring and risk of misstatement in financial statements, (ii) Delayed submission of necessary documents by project managers and inadequate monitoring to allow project closure, (iii) Failure to close completed projects, which poses a risk of misappropriation of funds due to the possibility of expenditure on the non-existing projects, (iv) Stalled projects, without any sign of progress over time, (v) Making payments to suppliers as advance payment without terms and conditions or binding contracts that stipulate the terms of the advance payment. (vi) Violation of financial regulations and procurement procedures, e.g., a contractor commencing implementation of the project’s construction before completion of the procurement process.
As a seasoned and certified PM and M&E practitioner, you must draw from your experience to advise project sponsors and leaders on what could have caused such weaknesses and how to redress them. Often, intentional or unintentional violations of the primary core and ethical values of those managing projects cause such inadequacies.
With the support of M&E practitioners, project managers don’t just plan, strategize, delegate, and execute tasks to achieve an outcome. They also monitor performance for quality control along the way. When you study PM, you learn how to develop and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and milestones against your project timeline. KPIs allow you to monitor and measure the progress of each stage of your project as it develops, ensuring you are continuing to work in line with your original goals to deliver the intended level of quality within the planned timeframe. Project managers also anticipate and respond to issues as they come up, developing solutions along the way and ensuring the final product still meets the expectations of all stakeholders in the project.
An effective project manager and M&E practitioner will confidently develop innovative new strategies if the project cannot go according to the original plan. When you understand project management, you will be handing in work you are proud of every time. So, one would ask why it takes a CAG to identify project management weaknesses. Where are the PM and M&E practitioners during project formulation/initiation, planning, and implementation? Let us just say that today, all industries/sectors demand certified and ethical project managers and M&E experts. Once again, I dare invite you to join TIPM to train to become a change agent who does not conform but transforms for the common good. And all of us at TIPM shall be your partners throughout your career.
