Acta Structilia

Integrating corporate social responsibility as an infrastructural projects financing option in Lagos State, Nigeria

Oluwaseyi Alao — 2024-06-12

This article examines the infrastructural projects that were delivered through corporate social responsibility (CSR) by private organisations in Lagos State, Nigeria, with a view to providing information on the projects’ distribution that could help the development of a CSR policy guide. A mixed method research approach with structured questionnaire and semi-structured interviews was adopted. The questionnaire was administered to 27 representatives of private organisations identified through the Respondents-Driven Sampling (RDS) technique. Nine of these representatives were selected using convenience/accidental sampling technique for the interviews. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The results show that private organisations’ participation in the delivery of infrastructural projects as CSR improved in the study area from 2010. It was noted that 85.7% of the total identified deliverable projects delivered by the private organisations were executed between 2010 and 2019. These projects include, among others, blocks of classroom; provision of pipe-borne water; landscaping and beautification; renovations of old health facilities; construction of library facilities; Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centres, and health facilities. The study indicates that private sector organisations are well disposed to undertake infrastructural projects as part of their CSR and thus provide categorical information suitable for policy formulation to enhance the integration of CSR into infrastructure development programmes. The study contributes to the concept of corporate social responsibility as a different financing alternative for the delivery of infrastructural projects. The study is limited to CSR-based infrastructural projects by private organisations for public institutions; the respondents are private-sector stakeholders.

Living walls: Upscaling their performance as green infrastructure

Karen Botes — 2024-06-12

Living wall systems can provide biophilic value and ecosystem services. Despite their benefits and potential to mitigate global challenges such as cooling, air purification, sound absorption, and human well-being, their economic feasibility, resilience, maintenance, and sustainability impact on their application and use. This article gives an overview of a pragmatic study which synthesised the factors hampering LWSs’ performance as green infrastructure (GI) and analysed the performance of outdoor modular LWSs as GI. The study aims to establish criteria for selecting the most suitable LWSs as green infrastructure. Data capturing involved a mixed-method methodology. Local experts provided insight into local LWS typologies through questionnaires, which were analysed qualitatively. The six-month experimental study involved two selected LWSs of 4m² each in extent on the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa campus in Pretoria, in South Africa’s Gauteng province. Variables included minimum and maximum daily temperatures, relative humidity, precipitation, soil temperature, water content and electrical conductivity, leaf biomass yield, and plant stress. Fresh and dry biomass yields with a calibrated laboratory balance was the primary performance indicator. Plant stress, the secondary performance indicator, was measured by chlorophyll fluorescence analysis. Experimental data were statistically analysed. The results favour locally produced, low-technology, outdoor modular LWSs with limited, robust, lightweight, recycled components entailing uncomplicated assembly. Systems must involve low-technology irrigation. The LWS position should consider the plant crops’ light requirements and pollution. Pots should receive limited sun exposure and have a soil volume of 3 litres and a minimum depth of 200mm.

Urban memory and identity weighed against economic investment in urban renewal projects: A case of Kisumu City, Kenya

Edwin Koyoo — 2024-06-12

There have been limited efforts in using collective memory in representing public spaces and implementing urban renewal projects to maintain uniqueness. This article aims to investigate the role of urban landscape in shaping memories and proposes recommendations that reinforce urban landscape identity. This article postulates that a city’s individual and collective memory is important in maintaining its uniqueness in terms of urban landscape identity. A qualitative research design was adopted. Photo elicitation interviews (PEI) were used to investigate the features that triggered memory of the participants and were important in contributing to the image of Kisumu City. There were ongoing and completed urban renewal projects within Kisumu City, Kenya at the time of the study. 12 PEI participants were purposively selected in addition to four officials from the County Government as key informants and four professionals were interviewed. Field investigation by the researcher was carried out through mapping and photography. The study revealed that the old railway station as human-made element was instrumental in memory through historical development while socio-cultural activities at Kisumu Sports Grounds and social interaction at public Central Square were also highly regarded in memory development. Despite the important interplay of natural, human-made and social interactions in the formation of memory, place and identity, there was also a very positive response from residents on the new look of the city. The physical upgrade and cleaning of the city and its public spaces, which also means greater safety, was well appreciated from a socio-economic point of view.

Critical success factors framework for enhancing the sustainability of small and medium-sized contractors in Namibia

Tinoapei Dhliwayo — 2024-06-12

The sustainability of small and medium-sized contractors (SMCs) is vital, considering the critical role they play in socio-economic development globally. SMCs in Namibia have been consistently grappling with high failure rates over the years, largely due to a dearth of robust policy frameworks to guide SMC development and sustainability in the country. This study investigates the critical success factors (CSFs) for SMCs’ sustainability in Namibia. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected from 60 purposively selected construction industry participants, comprising owner-managers of contracting firms, policymakers, and construction professional consultants. Interviews were conducted with the participants, using a semi-structured interview tool. Data were then analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings revealed six CSFs, including public and private institutions’ collaborative support, skills training, an enabling construction business environment, access to adequate and affordable finance, consistent work opportunities, and firm owner’s entrepreneurial skills. The identified CSFs culminated in the development of a framework for guiding the development of SMCs in Namibia. By incorporating the six CSFs in the framework, SMCs could be effectively developed and sustained. The framework may assist policymakers in making fundamental policy reforms and developing appropriate and context-specific interventions to sustain SMCs in Namibia and similar contexts.

Challenges in implementing corporate social responsibility: A study of SMES in South Africa’s construction industry

Lance Wentzel — 2024-06-12

To date, very little research has been done on the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), particularly the practice of CSR within the global and local construction industry. This extends to studies identifying CSR implementation challenges affecting construction organisations. This work attempts to specifically identify CSR implementation challenges affecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the South African construction industry (SACI). Existing literature was used to provide an overview of the current CSR implementation challenges from both the global construction industry as well as generic business sectors guided by the St. Gallen Management Model. An empirical quantitative research approach study using an online questionnaire survey, with the data analysed using both descriptive (mean, standard deviation, etc.) and inferential (Analysis of Variance ANOVA) statistics was conducted. The findings revealed that SMEs in the SACI are affected by CSR implementation challenges related to a lack of integration in the SME culture and business objectives; Limited financial resources to undertake CSR initiatives; Lack of CSR skills and knowledge, and unstable economic conditions. In addition, novelty in the findings were importantly linked to the fact that although SEs and MEs are categorised differently in terms of their cidb grade and their upper limit of tender value range, the two groups of contractors’ experience similar CSR implementation challenges across four management levels as guided by the St. Gallen Management Model, carefully guiding future research into investigating mitigating factors pertaining to SEs and MEs.

Interfacial tensile bond strength between precast rib and cast-in-situ concrete for beam and block slab systems

Bonga Khuzwayo — 2024-06-12

The beam and block slab systems, also referred to as rib and block slab, are widely used in South Africa as a preferred suspended flooring system owing to their structural efficacy and economic viability. According to SANS 1879:2021 guidelines for precast concrete suspended slabs, it is recommended to remove temporary propping for beams and block slabs once the cast-in-situ concrete’s compressive strength surpasses 17 MPa. Notwithstanding the limited availability of literature on the matter, certain manufacturers and structural engineers have raised apprehensions regarding the structural soundness of the interfacial tensile bond strength that exists between precast rib and cast-in-situ concrete, particularly when the compressive strength of concrete is 17 MPa, hence the study. In order to measure the structural soundness of interfacial tensile bond strength, pull-out tests were conducted on precast roughened concrete ribs and cast-in-situ concrete. The study determined that, when the surface roughness was 3 mm, the delamination experiments exhibited a tensile stress of 0.15 MPa, which equates to a compressive strength of 17 MPa for cast-in-situ concrete. Furthermore, the study revealed that the tensile strength attains a value of 0.21 MPa upon attainment of a compressive strength of 25 MPa for concrete, given a surface roughness of 3 mm. The study suggests that an independent mechanism should be devised and implemented to guarantee the structural soundness of the interfacial tensile bond strength between precast ribs and cast-in-situ concrete topping, owing to the low bond strengths.

Report cards, and other tracking of South Africa’s public sector fixed infrastructure condition

Kevin Wall — 2024-06-12

This article is the second of a planned series being published in this Journal describing investigations of the condition of South Africa’s infrastructure, reasons for/contributory factors to this condition, and the consequences of this condition for service delivery and quality of life. The purpose of the article is not to critique any of the infrastructure condition measurements, but to convey to the reader a general impression of the direction in which the condition of public sector infrastructure in South Africa is heading, and to make inferences from that. The article introduces surveys which have been undertaken by credible institutions, including a number of national, provincial, and local government departments, state-owned companies, as well as the Auditor General to track South Africa’s public sector fixed infrastructure condition. Over the years, a number of these surveys, some of them tracking the condition of this infrastructure and others tracking various performance criteria which allow inferences of the infrastructure condition to be made, have shown that the infrastructure is, on average, not in a good state – thus hampering service delivery and, as a consequence, harming the economy and the quality of life of the population. However, the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, with its four “infrastructure report cards”, approximately five years apart, has provided the clearest picture of trends in infrastructure condition nationwide.