Erastus Mishengu Mwanaumo

• BSc MSc; PhD Engineering; FCIOB; MRICS; PrCPM; REng; PEIZ
• Professor (Associate) at University of Zambia

Infrastructure development has long been considered a catalytic factor in a country's economic development. Zambia has experienced a deficit in infrastructure that has prevented developmental and economic growth. For far too long now, policy makers have aimed at reducing the national debt, and find a better financing method for infrastructure proje...

This study aims to investigate and analyse the project issue factors (PIF) contributing to construction contract terminations within Ghana's construction industry. By identifying and understanding these key factors, the study seeks to provide valuable insights for stakeholders to improve project success rates, minimise disruptions, and foster susta...

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the quality of midwifery care service provided to women by midwives at Women and New-Born Hospital (WNBH) in Lusaka District of Zambia using a modified SERVQUAL scale questionnaire. The study intended to evaluate the quality of the service from the viewpoint of service providers and recipients of the serv...

This study explores determinants in accessing finance for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Zambian construction industry, with a specific focus on the impact of financial literacy, collateral requirements, and credit history. The research adopted a survey approach to collect data from 78 SMEs operating in the construction sector. The find...

The study aimed to examine the effects of compliance and monitoring of performance of public sector construction projects, assess the effect of contract documentation and determine the technical capabilities and constraints faced by contractors on the performance of public sector construction projects. A quantitative correlational research design w...

Globally, public procurement has been used as a tool to support small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) due to the important role they play in the economy. SMEs participation in every sphere of economic activities including public procurement is one of the ways the sector can promote economic development of the country. However, SMEs sometimes are...

Introduction: Poor quality service provision by midwives can prevent women from coming to the hospital to seek care, leading to complications which later cause deaths, increasing the maternal mortality rate. Aim: The study aimed to assess factors affecting provision of quality midwifery care service at Women and New-Born Hospital (WNBH) in Lusaka D...

This study investigates the factors affecting urban housing development in Lusaka, Zambia, a city facing significant challenges due to rapid urbanization and a high prevalence of inadequate housing. Utilizing the Delphi method, data was collected through two iterative rounds from a panel of 10 experts to identify and evaluate 15 factors contributin...

In Sub-Saharan Africa, and specifically in Zambia, managing fecal sludge presents significant challenges, particularly in the unplanned residential areas of Lusaka where the majority of the population relies on pit latrines. Despite these challenges, the Lusaka Water Supply and Sanitation Company (LWSC) has intensified its efforts to improve sanita...

Effective land resource management and sustainable development, particularly in urban green spaces, rely on strategicland planning and mapping techniques such as Remote Sensing. This study utilises object-based classification techniques,employing Google Earth Engine and Quantum Geographic Information Systems (QGIS), to examine Lusaka City's greensp...

Infrastructure is closely linked to socio-economic development and research based on historical data has shown asignificant positive association between economic growth and infrastructure in the long run. Infrastructuredevelopments come with a range of social and economic benefits, however, it is not a panacea without side effects,having a range of...

This study presents a flood modelling approach aimed at enhancing planning strategies to mitigate flooding impacts in LusakaCity. By integrating factors such as slope, hydrostatic potential surface, and the built environment, a predictive flood modelwas developed. The methodology involved using Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques and dig...

Governance mechanisms for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) are critical to the sustainable management of waste for effective environmental management and public health. These mechanisms are dependent on management frameworks upon which they are based. This study aimed at assessing current frameworks for managing MSW in Zambia using a descriptive researc...

The nature of the construction contract administrator’s role from project commencement to completion is multifaceted and complex. Additionally, successfully performing the role, requires various skills. Different perspectives exist on what contract administrators do and what competencies are necessary for the day-to-day administration of a construc...

E-procurement is gaining momentum worldwide as companies realize its transformative potential to improve operational efficiency. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) strategically use advanced technologies to drive their growth and competitiveness. However, there is a significant research gap, particularly with regard to e-procurement adoption...

Purpose: Labour productivity has been identified as one of the causes of the decline in the construction sector's growth, mainly because factors, strategies and parameters for predicting improvements have not been fully explored. The study aimedat identifying and assessing factors contributing to labour productivity in construction projects in Zamb...

Purpose: Construction Labour Productivity (CLP) has been identified as one of the causes of the decline in the construction sector's growth. The decline has mainly been caused by a lack of full exploration of the constraint factors, strategies and parameters used in the prediction improvements have not been fully explored. The study aimed at identi...

The research aimed at identifying factors that affect the successful implementation of telecommunication tower projects at Airtel Networks Zambia Plc and IHS Zambia Limited, in order to ensure adequate measures are put in place to support the successful implementation of telecommunications tower projects by market players. The study took a pragmati...

E-procurement adoption is not without its challenges despite facilitating the purchasing process. Hence, this quantitative cross-sectional survey study aimed to examine the e-procurement adoption barriers encountered by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Republic of South Sudan. The 300 SMEs selected out of 1215 SMEs through systemati...

The main aim of the study was to model stakeholders’ capacity for urban housing development from a developing country’s perspective, using Zambia as a case study. The study used a quantitative methodology and recruited 214 respondents from various organizations concerned with the planning and development of human settlements in Lusaka, Zambia. The...

The current global climate has shown a significant change, mostly resulting from human-induced activities. Frequent experiences of extreme rainstorms, deadly landslides, and floods followed by the destruction of roads, bridges, drainage, buildings, agriculture, and other infrastructures have been appearing across the globe along with extensive soci...

Background: According to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) the Southern African railway network extends homogenously through 1067mm cape gauge across 12 of the 15 SADC nations. Nonetheless, the network is constrained from efficient and effective operation due to insufficient investment in maintaining and upgrading affected tracks an...

The development of transportation infrastructure is crucial for a country's progress as it enables access to social and economic amenities and acts as a vital link between production and consumption. This is particularly significant for landlocked nations like Zambia, which heavily rely on a wide network of public highways, including both paved and...

Public infrastructure-based clients implement extant procurement strategies without carefully evaluating particular requirements to select and adapt the most appropriate practices that cultivate the best and most practical benefits of a chosen procurement strategy. The study explored procurement strategies for managing and optimizing construction t...

Globally, countries are paying particular attention to the potential of Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations (SACCOs) as one form of enterprise with a meaningful impact on the economic empowerment of their citizens. Despite the growth of SACCOs being sparsely distributed across various countries, the growth of SACCOs driven by Capital Struc...

One of the key functions of governments is the provision of public goods, facilities and services. Therefore, projects, resources and competencies are mobilized to bring about strategic change that can greatly contribute to national growth and wealth. Project implementation requires engagement of various suppliers, contractors and service providers...

The risks associated with construction can be transferred to insurance. However, in the Zambian construction industry (ZCI), knowledge and use of insurance covers (performance security, advance payment, and contractor’s all risk insurance) have not been previously fully elucidated. The study was designed to cover this knowledge gap among profession...

This study attempts to standardize Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization (SACCO) endogenous growth measures that include profit, membership, share capital, dividends, savings, employee competence, and the number of employees-by performing principal component analysis on 42 SACCOs drawn from Lusaka Province of Zambia. Using Statistical Package...

Introduction Broad Brush Surveys (BBS) are a rapid, qualitative assessment approach using four meta-indicators -physical features, social organization, social networks and community narratives - to gauge how local context interfaces with service/intervention options, implementation and uptake. Methods In 2021, responding to rapid urbanization and...

Sustainability in construction has been an everlasting global goal to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases that have had detrimental effects on the environment and negatively impacted human life in general. Graphene, a two-dimensional material exhibiting exceptionally desirable properties, has shown great potential to impact the building and con...

The rapid rate of global urbanization has forced governments worldwide to develop sustainable cities through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), which appear to offer suitable solutions that overcome the shortage of public finance and cuts on public spending. However, it is still unclear what strategies to follow when engaging private sector partne...

Roads, bridges, sewer systems, and other infrastructure failures often result from climate-related incidences along with extensive socioeconomic impacts including human life losses. Infrastructures with frequent experiences are usually replaced, altered, or adopt different Low-Impact Development, Best Management Practice (LID-BMP) approaches. Adapt...

Despite convergence shown by different schools of thought on the correlation between efficient risk management practices and enhanced delivery of sustainable construction projects, the knowledge gap on the use of professional indemnity insurance (PII) is still persistent in Africa, particularly in Zambia. This paper examined factors influencing the...

With the increasing complexity of rapidly growing urban environments and the interactions of humans and socioeconomic and political systems, the global urgency for applying sustainable risk management planning strategies, comprehensively for urban fire risk reduction activities, becomes increasingly evident in most fire-prone megacities worldwide s...

The global climate has significantly changed primarily due to human-induced activities. The incidences of droughts and extreme floods followed by destruction have been appearing across the globe along with extensive effects on economic and public health sectors, including the human lives losses whereby, Africa is among the greatly affected regions....

Purpose This article aims to investigate the various applications of gamification practices in the construction industry, with a focus on improving safety and quality, project management, innovation and productivity and workforce development. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify several constructi...

Purpose The purpose of this article is to assess the extent to which environmental economic practices are recognized and implemented in developing countries, with a specific emphasis on the Nigerian construction sector. Design/methodology/approach To examine the extent of awareness and usage, a quantitative research approach was adopted with close...

The Broad Brush Survey, described in this manual is an approach originally developed by Valdo Pons (1993, 1996) and further developed and popularized through the work of Sandra Wallman (1996), which can be used to capture both the landscape and ‘feel’ of a community and the people in it. The research findings can be used to shape further investigat...

Construction works bring about silica dust hazards, part of the dust produced by staple materials such as concrete and sand. Silica dust, when inhaled in high quantities or for an extended period, is lethal to workers as it causes silicosis, which has no known cure. Several studies have reported high exposures of silica dust in construction, especi...

Flash floods are short-period floods with a high peak discharge. Flash floods may be brought about by an increase in rainfall coupled with the rise of impervious surfaces. Accurate estimation of surface runoff and flood depth is therefore a vital task in coming up with ways to intercept and manage excess surface runoff. The study was carried out...

To optimize productivity and safety on a construction site, it is necessary to ensure that work crew movements are safe, easy, quick, and short. Besides, space is a limited resource in inner-city building construction and needs to be utilized optimally. Thus, mathematical methods have been employed to solve project optimization problems such as all...

Local authority autonomy is critical for effective and efficient delivery of services to the people. One of the objectives of this study was to design a framework that seeks to address the challenges associated with attainment of local authority autonomy. The purpose of the framework was to support local authorities so that they participate in the...

This research intends to explain the challenges associated with internal revenue generation in Zambia's local government system. Using a purposive and critical case sample size of 102 local authorities in Zambia computed at ninety five percent (95%) confidence level with a Five percent (5%) confidence interval a questionnaire survey was administere...

Construction does not only bring about economic development but also hazards that are detrimental to worker’s health. Construction activities such as wet concrete mixing, wall filling, and painting require the use of chemical which become irritants on workers’ skin resulting in symptoms of skin diseases. The skin diseases could be costly and may re...

This research discusses the global significance of digitalization and its impact on carbon emissions in the context of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). It highlights the fact that digitalization is deeply ingrained in all aspects of daily life and is a critical component of future development. However, the energy consumption associated with...

An inner-city building construction site for vacant land development or redevelopment of existing property is a site surrounded by buildings, occupants, and busy street(s); its space is the most important but limited resource that needs wisely planned and professionally used. The study aimed to assess the construction site layout planning (CSLP) pr...

Zambia is one of the fastest developing countries in Africa. It is land linked and has one of the most urbanizing cities, the capital, Lusaka. The country is now grappling with serious challenges of managing municipal solid waste that is generated from its growing population and increased economic activity. Circular economy ensures that all the neg...

Purpose: The construction process involves the assembly of various materials and components in order to come up with a final product. This entails that all parties involved in the construction supply chain need to be effective and efficient. However, the Zambian building construction industry like many other developing countries is associated with...

Purpose: End-of-life (EoL) management of solar products is an emerging issue, primarily because most industrial designs have not considered the impacts of the products when they reach their end-of-life stage. The aim of the study was to assess the practices on the disposal of solar e-waste among the residents of Lusaka, Zambia. Design/Methodology/A...

Purpose: This study examined the railway transport service quality using Zambia railways limited as a case study. Design/Methodology/Approach: The methodological approach adopted was quantitative with a case study strategy. A 138 respondents contributed to the study, these included Zambia railways limited (ZRL) employees and rail freight customers....

Economic sustainability in the construction sector is increasingly important in developing countries, and threats from construction tender price variability and inflation require immediate action. While global trends emphasize sustainable construction practices triggered by rapid economic growth and augmented environmental impact considerations, th...

This paper investigates current knowledge concerning adopted procurement strategies for managing construction-price in the public sector. The article reveals that studies mainly address four main areas: procurement decision support systems, transparency, ethical considerations in procurement, identification of procurement criteria, and overcoming i...

Construction infrastructure plays a crucial role in development, bringing significant implications for resource utilization. Henceforward, specific measures for alleviating challenges associated with sustainable construction become crucial-general arguments of good industry practice. Construction-sector sustainability is increasingly important in d...

The essentiality of public infrastructure delivery cannot be over-stressed. However, there is a need to challenge existing practices and poor performance and focus on the value of public infrastructure to attain sustainable improvement in the public construction sector. Like many developing countries, Zambia's public construction sector experiences...

Construction tender price volatility threatens desirable infrastructure push in the public sector. The damaging effects of escalating tender prices outweigh the socioeconomic benefits of such infrastructure. If not addressed, this harmful effect destroys construction sector productivity, causing it to lag behind other economic sectors, thereby decr...

There is need to develop occupational health and safety drivers that would improve occupational health and safety performance management, for small-scale contractors. This need is also significant for project stakeholders such as government agencies, clients, professionals and financiers. According to studies, these stakeholders in Zambia devote le...

Due to Covid-19's negative impact, project completion remains a key topic of conversation in business field. This article examines how the Covid-19 pandemic affected project duration, progress, and completion in Botswana. The study's goals were met by surveying 105 participants using a questionnaire. The study details covid-19's disruptions and del...

The paper sets to address the challenges of planning, implementing and monitoring of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) interventions in Mantapala Refugee Settlement (MRS) through combination of the paper-based method and geographical information systems (GIS). This method was used to assess the accessibility of WASH services by monitoring the int...

Silica dust is unavoidable hazard, which is produced from construction activities such as grinding, cutting concrete and other materials that contain silica. Respirable silica dust can lead to occupational diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, renal disease, tuberculosis, lung cancer and silicosis. In construction, workers are exp...

Small-scale electrical contractors are subjected to a plethora of occupational demands that negatively affect social, psychological, and physical wellbeing, with an adversative influence on employees' and firms' performance. Employee wellbeing is perceived to improve occupational health and safety (OH&S) in various construction projects. However, t...

Purpose: Against a backdrop of Zambia’s continued weak economic conditions and with many local authorities, experiencing declining local revenues and financial performance, this paper presents a synthesis of the local government turnaround findings. It aims to identify the constraints to decentralization and recovery strategies based on the evidenc...

Development of urban housing requires participation of various stakeholders, from the state, private sector, and community to the civil society organizations. Cognizant of that fact, this research sought to establish the measurement model for stakeholders’ participation in an urban housing development from the neo-liberal perspective. The study emp...

The narrative that septic tanks are agents of ground water pollution, has contributed to the false negative responses that are experienced any time an installation of these tanks is undertaken. To demystify this narrative, it was imperative to explore different perspectives from social-cultural environment to technological one. The study used quali...

In December 2019, China made public that they had recorded several suspicious cases of an unknown “sickness” that was similar to pneumonia in Wuhan which is the capital city of China‟s Hubei province. This was investigated further and discovered to be a member of a coronavirus family which has since been named the Covid-19. The virus has spread to...