Employ quantity surveyors to supervise government’s projects — Expert

An expert, Mr Bamidele Mafimidiwon, on Friday called for the establishment of a federal directorate manned by quantity surveyors to supervise ongoing government’s capital projects. He said that this would ensure that funds allocated to capital projects were optimally utilised. Mafimidiwon, the Chairman of Lagos Branch of Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), made the […]

An expert, Mr Bamidele Mafimidiwon, on Friday called for the establishment of a federal directorate manned by quantity surveyors to supervise ongoing government’s capital projects.

He said that this would ensure that funds allocated to capital projects were optimally utilised.

Mafimidiwon, the Chairman of Lagos Branch of Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), made the suggestion while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

According to him, mismanagement of funds allocated to capital projects is due to absence of professional quantity surveyors to monitor, appraise and manage ongoing capital protects.

“In Nigeria, government has allocated funds for some particular capital projects for more than 10 times, yet such projects have not been executed.

“The allocated funds, most times, are mismanaged by some groups or persons who may end up executing the project half-way or may out rightly not execute it at all.

“But if quantity surveyors are involved in the costing of such projects, they will ensure that maximum value is derived from any expenditure made on a project.

“This is because construction cost valuation, expenditure management and rendering of cost advice are the major areas of job description of quantity surveyors ,’’ he said.

Mafimidiwon stressed the need for public sensitisation and awareness about the role and importance of quantity surveyors, saying that many people did not know their value.

According to him, if government and estate developers can engage quantity surveyors to evaluate the cost of projects, the high cost of most projects will be checked.