Public Infrastructure Maintenance Practices in Ghana
Public Infrastructure Maintenance Practices in Ghana
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2017
Authors
Takyi, Lydia Nyankom
Nkrumah, Edmund Nana Kwame
Anaba, Oswin Aganda
Tindi, Stephen
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Review of Public Administration R and Management
Abstract
This study assessed the maintenance practices and quality improvements of public infrastructure by adopting the National
Theatre of Ghana as a case study. This research specifically examined maintenance practices of the National Theatre, a
national asset and the biggest auditorium used by the country to host major national events. A single case study design was
employed for the study. Both questionnaires and interviews were used to obtain data from sampled staff and management of
the National Theatre. The study revealed that the maintenance practices at the theatre are mostly routine involving cleaning,
fumigation and servicing. There are also quarterly and annual maintenance schedules, but all these are predictive and
preventive maintenance works. The maintenance works at the theatre have also ensured that the National Theatre is serene
and habitable in the short term. The maintenance practices also help to maintain the aesthetics and attraction of the theatre
in the medium term, and in the long term, maintenance practices can forestall the sudden breakdown of major equipment
hence prevented the sudden collapse of the entire facility. However, the study found a gap between maintenance practices
and quality maintenance practices at the National Theatre. The theatre has not integrated quality management practices,
hence some of the important long-term benefits of maintenance practices have been missed and there is a backlog of
maintenance that need to be worked out. Staff of the National theatre are not oblivious to the backlog of maintenance that the
facility faced with but suggested that this is a result of inadequate budgetary allocation for maintenance. The study concludes
that increasing budgetary appropriation for maintenance, there is a need to improve public cooperation and support for the
National Theatre in order to improve the quality of the edifice.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Nkrumah, E. N. K., Stephen, T., Takyi, L., & Anaba, O. A. (2017). Public infrastructure maintenance practices in Ghana. Review of Public Administration and Management, 5(3), 36-57.