Apostle Kumi-Larbi
General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost (COP), Apostle Alexander Kumi-Larbi, has suggested ways in which government can construct quality projects at low cost using the church’s model.
This, according to him, would enable the government to save more money for other useful projects to accelerate the development of the country for the benefit of the citizenry.
Presenting a paper titled, “Value For Money In School Construction: The Church Of Pentecost’s Experience With Constructing Cost-Effective Schools In Ghana” at the Value For Money Conference hosted by the Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, in Accra on June 25, 2018, Apostle Kumi-Larbi outlined some cost-effective measures adopted by the church in constructing some of its educational facilities.
He drew insightful lessons from the construction of the 3-storey 30-unit Pentecost Preparatory School project and the 3-storey 18-unit Pentecost Secondary School building, in Koforidua, as well as the seven-storey Pentecost University College building at Sowutuom by the church.
According to him, the COP places project cost-related factors under five generic themes: Procurement Related Factors, Design Value/Engineering and Technical Post-Contract Supervision, Cost Management Factors, Audit Monitoring and Evaluation of Projects and Strong Internal Organizational Culture.
He said COP has always adopted the traditional system of procurement to its advantage due to its comprehensive procedures and competitive fairness which most invariably promote satisfactory public accountability.
He noted that with the exception of minor maintenance works, all new works are subjected to competitive tendering with the high potential for cost savings.
He also noted that the church subscribes to strict adherence to policies on procurement procedures during tendering, hence the promptness in the procurement process for the delivery of infrastructural projects.
“Averagely, within a maximum of two months after tendering, all review and approval processes should have been completed and the awards made,” he said.
The General Secretary, who is also a civil engineer, said that the church was able to reduce the overall cost of its infrastructural project by between 15 and 25 percent by procuring construction materials itself and paying for labour.
“The COP procures materials from very creditable companies for delivery to the project site; with materials received by a representative of the Procurement Advisory Committee. For the purpose of accountability, a Clerk of Works is appointed to manage the materials on site to prevent wastage and pilfering. The caution, however, is that the burden of risk on materials management is shifted to the client, and the role of the contractor is limited to supply labour and equipment for the execution of the project,” he noted.
Emphasizing the importance of an internal organisation culture to the entire process, he said that the COP has a strong internal organizational culture which ensures that the process of certificate preparation and processing for payment are done internally without external influence.
“There is no room for kickbacks since the contractor does not need to push his or her certificates through or play any part in the processing of his or her payment.
“Also, as part of the revised welfare policy of The Church of Pentecost, it does not expect anyone to pay gratuity to anyone, and officers of the administration of the church do not expect any thank you envelopes. Any such unwarranted gifts are refunded to the church’s coffers,” he stated.
“Since we, the Church of Pentecost, have no respite or cannot control these external inputs, we can control our internal procurement mechanisms, cost control procedures, timely delivery of projects, manage scope creep, enhance value management, stern supervision and exploit our strong organizational culture to our advantage. In addition, integrity, commitment and applying appropriate sanctions promptly have helped us. These factors have resulted in the delivery of projects at low cost, high quality and high value for money.”