A PROJECT MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE: AN EVALUATION OF THE CAREBIQUE PROJECT IN MANICA, MOZAMBIQUE.

Honours Cou rseDeve lopmen t Managemen t (O WS 03x8 )

H . Mushonga

Oc tobe r 2005

Scha lk van Heerden 909803401

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TABL E OF CONTENTS PAGE

1 . In t roduc t ion . 3

2 . Con tex t .

2 .1 H is to r i ca l Na r ra t i ve . 4

2 .2 Embeddedness w i t h in Deve lopmen t F ie ld . 5

3 . P ro jec t L i f e - cyc le : Leve l o f ope ra t i on . 8

3 .1 In i t i a t e and De f i ne . 8

3 .2 Des ign and P lan . 10

3 .3 Imp lemen t and Deve lop . 12

3 .4 Te rm ina te and Eva lua te . 14

4 . Successes and Fa i lu res 16

5 . Conc lus ion 18

6 . L i s t o f Re fe rences 19

7 . Append ices 20

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1 . In t rod uct io n

The p ro jec t unde r eva lua t i on can be c l ass i f i ed as a m ic ro -p ro jec t . I t has a spec i f i c geog raph i ca l f ocus and i s sma l l i n t e rms o f expend i tu re and o rgan isa t iona l i npu t . A l though i t has a w ide scope and b road ob jec t i ves , sma l l w ins and conc re te re la t i onsh ips a re the mos t cha rac te r i s t i c f ea tu res o f t he in i t i a t i ve . I ndeed t he p ro jec t has a pe rsona l na tu re tha t makes i t un ique f rom mos t o t her p ro jec ts . There i s a s i gn i f i can t d i f f e rence in the way Eng ineer i ng p ro jec t s a re managed as opposed to Soc ia l Deve lopmen t p ro jec ts , p r imar i l y due to l ess tang ib le goa ls and a human e lement i n the l a t te r t ha t i s ha rd to an t i c ipa te , con t ro l o r eva lua te . Th is essay ho lds tha t t he p ro jec t unde r d i scuss ion i nvo l ves an app roach tha t i s bo th innova t i ve and even more f l u i d o r o rgan i c than ma ins t ream soc ia l deve lopmen t p ro jec t s . T h is has apparen t bea r ing on the way i n wh ich the p ro jec t i s managed and the re f o re th i s eva lua t ion can be cons ide red more o f an exp lo ra t ion and inves t i ga t ion t han a c l i n i ca l compar i son be tween a p ro jec t managemen t mode l and a p ro jec t t ha t f i t s such a mode l . The app roach w i l l r a t he r be t o cons ide r the d i f f e ren t aspec t s and componen t s o f p ro jec t managemen t and to exp lo re how t hese have been emp loyed by the p ro jec t .

A dec i s i ve fac to r t ha t w i l l be i nco rpo ra t ed th roughou t th i s ana l ys i s i s t ha t t he re a re no fo rma l f und ing and consequen t l y no f i xed budge t s f r om wh ich t o work in t he p ro jec t . Bes ides cos t (budge t ) ; du ra t ion ( t ime ) and qua l i t y (p roduc t ) a re t he o ther two cen t ra l e l emen ts in p ro jec t management . W e sha l l con t inuous l y d i scuss how these f ac t o rs a re nego t i a t ed and t raded o f aga ins t each o ther i n t he p ro jec t ’ s d r i ve t o fu l f i l i t s ob jec t i ves . W i th i n a bas i c scope o f con tex t , l i f e - cyc le and successess and fa i l u res , t he re a re un fo r tuna t e ly numerous o ther e l emen ts o f p ro jec t management t ha t can no t be d iscussed i n de ta i l , wh i l s t o t he rs need be om i t ted comp le t e l y . Th i s i s s i gn i f i can t s i nce aspec ts l i ke the cha rac te r i s t i cs and ab i l i t i es o f t he p ro jec t manager cou ld be cons ide red c ruc ia l i n exp la in i ng a pa r t i cu la r phenomenon o r t r ade -o f f . R i sk managemen t i s cen t ra l i n t he p ro jec t unde r d i scuss ion as i s commun ica t ion . A s t r i c t and accu ra t e hand l ing o f t he top i c does no t a f fo rd ven tu r i ng i n t o such a reas , bu t t ha t i s no t t o say t ha t t hey a re no t c ruc ia l . When a ce r ta in aspec t needs c ruc ia l exp lana t ion , use sha l l be made o f Append i ces .

F i r s t l y , a na r ra t i ve ove rv i ew o f t he p ro jec t w i l l be g i ven , f o l l owed by d i scuss ing the w ide r deve lopmen t con tex t i n wh ich the p ro jec t i s embedded . T herea f te r t he p ro jec t l i f e - cyc le w i l l be used t o assess cu r ren t l eve l s o f ope ra t ions . Tha t w i l l be fo l l owed by a d i scuss ion on successes and weaknesses . F ina l l y , conc lud ing remarks w i l l commen t on the ove ra l l ve rd ic t r ega rd ing t he s t reng ths and weaknesses o f t he p ro jec t .

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2 . Co ntex t

2 .1 Hi s tor ica l Nar ra t ive

To asce r ta in any g rasp on the dynamics beh ind the p ro jec t managemen t p r i nc ip les and techn iques i nvo lved in the p ro jec t under d i scuss ion a t ho rough unde rs tand ing o f t he h i s t o r i ca l na r ra t i ve i s impe ra t i ve . T he reason has been a l l uded to in the in t roduc t i on and tha t i s t he un ique , pe rsona l , vo lun ta ry and o rgan ic na t u re o f t he p ro jec t . Th roughou t the essay pa r t i es invo lved w i l l be desc r ibed and named acco rd ing to the i r t i t l es o r ro l es : t he p ro jec t manage r w i l l be desc r i bed s imp l y as “ the P ro jec t Manage r ” , t r us tees w i l l be re fe r red to as T rus tee 1 , a co -o rd ina t o r m igh t be ca l l ed “ t he UJ Deve lopment O f f i ce r , e t c .

The s ta r t o f t he p ro jec t unde r d i scuss ion can be t raced t o 1997 when t he P ro jec t Manage r , a wh i te , ma le , Sou th A f r i can vo lun tee red on a p ro jec t i n t he Man ica P rov ince o f Mozamb ique f o r one yea r . Under h i s gu idance g roups o f Sou t h A f r i can s tuden ts became i nvo l ved in regu la r sho r t t e rm t r i ps t o Man ica be ing pa r t i c i pa t i ng i n human i t a r i an in i t i a t i ves ass i s t i ng l oca l m i ss iona r ies and l oca l commun i t i es . Th is con t i nued fo r f ou r yea rs un t i l 2000 when va r ious f r i ends dec ided to ac t ou t on a des i re to p rov ide more long - te rm and sus t a inab le ass is t ance t o the peop le o f Man i ca . T he o r ig i n can be desc r i bed as t ru l y a l t r u i s t i c w i t h the reason f o r i nvo l vement t ha t i s mos t o f ten encoun t e red , be ing “ I f ee l p r i v i l eged i n the way I g rew up and fo r t he oppo r tun i t i es I r ece ived , I wan t t o sha re t ha t w i th those who have l i t t l e oppo r tun i t i es . ” I t wou ld appea r tha t t he h i s t o r i ca l con tex t o f Apar t he id Sou th A f r i ca , r e l i g ious be l i e f s and a rea l i sa t ion tha t Sou the rn A f r i can ne ighbou r ing coun t r i es a re i n t e rdependen t a l l p l ayed a mot i va t i ona l r o le , con t r ibu t i ng to the ea r l y i nvo l vemen t o f Sou t h A f r i can ind i v idua ls .

I t was soon rea l i sed tha t ‘ t he road to fa i l u re i s paved w i th good in ten t i ons ’ and weak s t ruc tu re . The re fo re t he Ca reb ique Up l i f tmen t T rus t (CUT) was founded , w i th the P ro jec t Manager as Founde r and th ree o t her T rus tees . I n Mozamb ique , a f t e r numerous nego t i a t i ons a t r i angu la r Memorandum o f Ag reemen t was s i gned be tween t he Ca reb ique Up l i f tmen t T rus t (CUT) , Founda t i on fo r Commun i t y Deve lopmen t (FDC) and the Assoc ia t ion f o r Young Fa rmers o f Mozamb ique (AJAM) . A t t h i s s tage the re was no th ing bu t a vague scope and s i x m in i -p ro jec t s tha t we re i den t i f i ed th rough t he pa r tne rs i nvo l ved and in consu l ta t i on w i t h t he commun i t i es o f Man i ca . The p ro jec ts we re : ag r i cu l t u re , en t rep reneu rsh ip , hea l th , spo r t , a

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commun i t y cen t re and t ra i n i ng . F o l l ow ing th i s , t he Rand A f r i kaans Un i ve rs i t y (RAU) , now Un i ve rs i t y o f Johannesbu rg (UJ ) , was app roached t o jo i n the i n i t i a t i ve . Th i s was done th rough t he Depar t ment o f Commun i t y Deve lopmen t headed by the Sen io r Deve lopmen t O f f i ce r (he rea f te r UJ Deve lopment O f f i ce r ) . A t t he end o f 2000 i t was dec ided t ha t RAU wou ld pa r tne r w i t h CUT and sho r t l y a f te rwards a Memorandum o f Ag reemen t was s i gned be t ween CUT and RAU. A re l a t ionsh ip was es tab l i shed t ha t was to fo rm t he backbone o f t he p ro jec t .

I n the Man i ca p rov ince , i n i t i a l con tac ts and ac t i v i t i es we re cen t red a round the sma l l v i l l age o f Vanduz i . Howeve r , i n dec id ing upon a l oca t ion fo r t he base (o f f i ce ) o f t he p ro jec t t he town o f Man ica was chosen . Reasons i nc luded wa te r and e lec t r i c i t y supp l y , a l a rger popu la t ion (30 000 ) and i t was a lso the d i s t r i c t cap i t a l and home t o mos t o f t he in f l uen t ia l l eade rs and ro le -p laye rs o f t he reg ion . P re l im ina ry i n i t i a t i ves we re g iven to Ag r i cu l t u re s i nce the need fo r ass i s tance i n Agr i cu l t u re was apparen t , r ea l and commun ica t ed by the commun i t y . The p ro jec t l aunched o f f i c i a l l y i n Man i ca on l y i n May , 2002 and fo r t he f i r s t t h ree mont hs t he o f f i ces was on a p la t f o rm i n t he l oca l bu t che ry ! I n Sep tember 2002 , a t h i rd o f a house (Cocco rosse ) was p rocu red and a one-yea r ren t con t rac t was s i gned . The loca l peop le chose the name Kuba ts i rana ( he lp ing one ano the r ) f o r t he p ro jec t , bu t i t was l a t e r d i scove red tha t such an o rgan i sa t i on ex i s ted e l sewhere i n Mozamb ique . Subsequen t l y , AJAM was used and even RAU was used spon taneous l y by Man icans and par t i c i pan t s . La te ly RAU has been rep laced by UJ and new d iscuss ions a re ca l l i ng fo r a f o rma l name change o f Cen t ro pa ra Consc ienc ia l i zação em Man ica (CCM) . The P ro jec t Manage r has i r on i ca l l y remarked : “ ca l l us any th ing , ca l l us the no name b rand p ro jec t ” . I t seems you don ’ t need a name to have a p ro jec t !

A l andmark even t i n 2002 was the l aunch o f compu te r t r a i n i ng l essons . T he s ta r t was s low bu t a t t he t ime o f wr i t i ng , t he Comput e r Schoo l i s t he p rem ie r ac t i v i t y o f t he p ro jec t . O the r ac t i v i t i es tha t was engaged in ove r t ime i s an Eng l i sh Schoo l , numerous spo r t ac t i v i t i es , t he f o rma t ion o f a Mus i c Band and regu la r v i s i t i ng g roups on annua l bas i s . These ac t i v i t i es a re conduc ted unde r seve re f i nanc ia l unce r t a i n t y and shor t com ings . The resu l t i s t ha t new oppor t un i t i es a re ceased on an ad hoc bas is as resou rces become ava i lab le . T he ma in sou rce o f f und ing i s i nd i v idua ls f r om Johannesbu rg who a re connec t ed th rough some l i ne o f f r i endsh ips . Dona t ions a re made t o the Un i ve rs i t y o f Johannesburg (UJ ) and admin i s t ra ted th rough

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t he i r sys tem. Dona t ions qua l i f y f o r A r t i c le 18A t ax bene f i t s , wh i ch amoun t to abou t 30% o f t he to ta l va lue dona t ed . T he mos t recen t deve lopmen t o f t he p ro jec t i s t ha t i t pu rchased a p iece o f l and in town (70m x 70m) t o use fo r t he cons t ruc t ion o f a re l a t i ve ly l a rge t ra i n i ng cen t re , t each ing fac i l i t i e s and accommodat ion . T he land has been pu rchased and f enced , bu t f und ra i s ing needs t o be done i n o rde r t o fac i l i t a te t h i s ven tu re , wh i ch wou ld be t he bo ldes t and b igges t i n i t i a t i ve o f t he p ro jec t t o da te .

2 .2 Emb eddedn ess w i th i n th e Deve lop ment F ie ld

As men t i oned the Ca reb ique ( f o r l ack o f a cu r ren t name) p ro jec t i s a m ic ro -p ro jec t , ope ra t i ng in a spec i f i c geog raph i ca l se t t i ng a im ing t o ‘ r a i se the s tandard o f l i v i ng ’ f o r t hose who a re dep r i ved o f oppo r tun i t y . A l though t he p ro jec t i s sma l l , i t has some b ig (even s t ubbo rn ) i deas . I t does no t g i ve hand -ou ts w i thou t some rec ip roc i t y o f shar i ng , t hey i t does no t dea l w i th s t range rs and i t i s sedom hu r r i ed . These a re obse rvab les and i t m igh t be bene f i c ia l t o exp lo re the ph i l osophy and theo ry tha t has been gu id i ng the i r endeavou rs over the pas t f i ve yea rs . Amar tya Sen (1999 :3 ) s t a t es tha t deve lopmen t i s t he “expans ion o f subs t an t i a l f r eedoms” so tha t peop le can choose to l i ve t he k i nd o f l i ves tha t t hey m igh t have reason to va lue . Th i s v i ew wh ich re fe rs to deve lopment as f r eedom to choose , l i nks na r row ly w i th no t ions o f empowermen t and soc ia l l ea rn ing (Dav ids e t a l . 2005 ) . I t i s c lear tha t the Careb iq ue pro jec t has a t i t s co re , th e a im tha t ind iv id ua ls sh ou l d become con sc io us , educa ted and pow er fu l en oug h to carve out a br igh t fu ture fo r th em se l ves (F re i re 1996 [1970] ) .

The p ro jec t f a l l s w i th in t he con tex t o f t he Sou the rn A f r i can Deve lopmen t Commun i t y (SADC) . Th i s i s c l ea r l y more than mere rhe to r i c and t he Careb ique p ro jec t i s an exemp la r i l y case o f how ne ighbour i ng coun t r ies i n Sou thern A f r i ca a re par t o f a w ide r commun i t y . Sou th A f r i ca has seen ove r the pas t decades tha t even ts i n Mozambique (o r recen t l y ) Z imbabwe does have a tang ib l e e f f ec t sou th o f t he L impopo . A m i l es t one t ha t occu r red du r ing the l i f espan o f t he p ro jec t was tha t v i sas be tween Mozamb ique and Sou t h A f r i ca we re abo l i shed . T h i s i s a g rea t boos t f o r t he p ro jec t who has as one o f i t s ma jo r i n fo rma l ob jec t i ves to comba t rac ism and xenophob ia th rough v i s i t i ng g roups tha t sha re c ross -cu l tu ra l expe r iences and ga in i n fo rmat ion abou t d i f f e ren t ways o f l i f e . The Ca reb ique p ro jec t r ecogn i ses the va lue o f i nd igenous know ledge and expe r i ence , bu t i s a l so no t i n den ia l o f t he chang ing wo r l d tha t con f ron t s the ru ra l

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peop le o f A f r i ca . Hence g roups f rom t he USA has a l so v i s i t ed Man i ca th rough t he p ro jec t , add ing a un ique expe r i ence and f l avou r t o the p rogram.

The po in t o f t he chang ing wo r ld tha t con f ron ts t he poo r i n A f r i ca i s pa r t i cu la r l y impo r tan t . To i l l u s t ra te t he impac t o f g loba l i sa t i on and the i n teg ra t i on i n t o a cap i ta l i s t ma rke t economy we can cons ide r sma l l sca le fa rmers . Th is g roup i s he lped by the p ro jec t because t he i r impor t ance i s much g rea te r t han t he i r capac i t y to f i gh t t he s t ruc tu ra l obs tac les tha t f ace t hem. Mu l t i na t i ona l compan ies , espec ia l l y g ra in (ma ize ) merchan t s has such b ig buy ing power t ha t t hey a re man ipu la t i ng reg iona l p r i ces and mak ing l i f e t ough f o r peasan t p roduce rs . Fu r t he rmore banks p re fe r l end ing to la rge i n t e rna t i ona l ven tu res ra the r than sma l l f a rmers . One can a l so cons ide r tha t a c i t y l i ke Mapu to a re us ing p redominan t l y r i ce as a s tap le food because i t i s impo r ted cheape r f r om t he Eas t t han wha t l oca l f a rmers can p roduce s im i l a r supp l i es o f ma i ze . Th i s scena r io c rea t es t he need fo r t he poo r to be equ ipped w i th l anguage sk i l l s i n Eng l i sh , compu te r sk i l l s and an unde rs t and ing o f marke t mechan isms . Numerous deve lopmen t expe r t s ( l i ke Mu l l e r and Du To i t c i t ed i n F i t zG era ld e t a l . ) have comment ed on th i s , ye t t he numbers o f poor peop le s i t t i ng in f r on t o f compu te rs ema i l i ng o r ga the r ing da t a l i ke wea t he r fo recas t s f r om t he i n te rne t i s s t r i k ing l y l ow . Deve lopmen t today i s much more ho l i s t i c t han s imp l y feed ing o r c l o t h ing the poo r .

S t ra teg ica l l y t he p ro jec t can be ca t ego r i sed as pa r t i c i pa t i ve w i th a s t rong focus on sus t a inab i l i t y , soc ia l l ea rn ing and empowermen t . T h is i s seen in the democra t i c dec i s ion mak ing p rocesses , a f ocus on sk i l l s deve lopmen t and mu tua l l ea rn ing th rough rea l - l i f e engagemen t . New in i t i a t i ves a re dec ided on a t g rass - roo t l eve l and those w i t h the respons ib i l i t y t o do t he work a l so has the au tho r i t y t o pe r f o rm i t i n a f r ee and au tonomous way . The Ca reb ique p ro jec t has s t r i ved to ass i s t peop le i n wha t t hey wan t t o do . T h is requ i red ma jo r f l ex i b i l i t y and makes cen t ra l i sed p lann ing and con t ro l d i f f i cu l t . I t does e leva te one o f t he ma jo r p ro jec t managemen t p r inc ip l es , name ly commun ica t ion . Thus a deve lopment i n i t i a t i ves becomes no t a mere p ro jec t bu t a conve rsa t i on o r a d i a l ogue tha t recogn ises tha t “peop le can lead t he i r own change p rocess . They can be the ac to rs , no t mere l y the sub jec ts o f change ” (Gran c i t ed in Dav ids e t a l . 2005 ) .

The p ro jec t unde r i nves t i ga t i on can t hus be pos i t i oned as a m ic ro -p ro jec t w i th in the SADC tha t has a qua l i t a t i ve focus

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t o ass i s t t he poo r i n rea l i s i ng oppo r tun i t i es t h rough par t i c i pa t i ve means i n a re la t i ona l con tex t .

3 . The Pro jec t L i fe -Cyc l e as eva lua t i ve f ramework for ana lys i ng leve l s o f o perat i on .

I n th i s sec t i on a gene ra l desc r ip t i on w i l l be g i ven o f t he p ro jec t l i f e - cyc le as a pa r t o f p ro jec t managemen t . The rea f te r each cyc le sha l l be desc r ibed i nd i v idua l l y and fo l l owed by an app l i ca t i on o f t he spec i f i c p r inc i p les and techn iques u t i l i sed o r neg lec t ed by the Careb ique p ro jec t . I t shou ld be ment ioned tha t t he cu r ren t eva lua t i on i s o f a p ro jec t t ha t i s s t i l l i n ope ra t i on and the re f o re s t i l l i n t he m idd le o f i t s l i f e - cyc le . The re a re bene f i t s t o eva lua t ing on ly conc luded p ro jec ts , bu t a m idcou rse eva lua t ion cou ld p rov ide pos i t i ve s t imu l i f o r t he p ro jec t under i nves t i ga t ion .

A focus on p ro jec t managemen t cons ide rs the i n t en t i ona l d i rec t i ng and admin i s t ra t i on o f a spec i f i c ven t u re to meet spec i f i c goa l s ove r a spec i f i c t ime f rame . The ma jo r d i f f e rence be t ween genera l managemen t and p ro jec t management i s t he un ique and tempora l na tu re o f p ro jec t s w i t h the accompany ing r i sks imp l i c i t i n such endeavou rs . P ro jec t management a ims a t t he op t im i sa t i on o f t h ree va r iab les tha t l eads t o de l i ve r i ng the h ighes t qua l i t y w i th the l eas t money ove r the sho r t es t pe r i od . Th i s o f f cou rse i s eas ie r sa id than done . Due to cons tan t changes and r i sks t he managemen t o f a p ro jec t i s an i n t r i ca te and f l uc tua t i ng en t e rp r i se .

Due t o the above men t i oned uncer t a i n t i es imp l i c i t i n p ro jec t managemen t , va r i ous t oo l s and d i sc i p l i nes a re adop ted t o reduce r i sk and imp rove e f f i c i ency and p roduc t i v i t y . The o rde r i ng o f t he p ro jec t i n a ch rono log ica l l i f ecyc le i s one such d isc i p l i ne t ha t a l l p ro jec t manage rs u t i l i ses to add s t ruc tu re t o the i r e f f o r t s . The l i f ecyc le i s t hus a d i v i s i on o f a l l t he p ro jec t managemen t ac t i v i t i es i n to d i f f e ren t g roup ings tha t has a p rog ress ive l i nea r co r re l a t ion . A myr i ad o f p rac t i t i one rs and academics have p roduced a myr i ad o f d i v i s i ons f o r t he p ro jec t l i f ecyc le ; i n th i s s tudy t he f o l l ow ing s tages , adap ted f rom S teyn e t a l ( 2003 ) w i l l be emp loyed : F i r s t l y , i n i t i a te and de f ine , second l y , des ign and p lan , t h i r d l y , imp lemen t and deve lop and l as t l y , t e rm ina t e and eva lua te . See Annexu re A fo r a c l ea r l i f ecyc le i l l u s t ra t i on . Fo l low ing i s a cyc le by cyc le inves t i ga t ion :

3 .1 In i t i a t e and De f i ne (A l so ca l led Concep t and In i t i a t i on )

The f i r s t phase i n the p ro jec t l i f ecyc le i s f ocussed on in i t i a t i ng and de f i n i ng t he ob jec t i ves and scope o f t he

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p ro jec t . I t o f ten s ta r t s w i th e i t he r a v i s iona ry i dea o r a g i ven manda te . I n t h i s f i r s t phase t he p ro jec t becomes o f f i c i a l and the p ro jec t l eader i s chosen , o f ten con f i rmed by the p ro jec t cha r te r . T he scope shou ld be es tab l i shed and the sha reho lders i den t i f i ed . S teyn e t a l ( 2003 :66) g i ves t he c r i t e r ia f o r a ‘ smar t ’ scope wh ich i s : spec i f i c , measu rab le , ag reed , rea l i s t i c and t ime -bound . Th is phase o f p ro jec t managemen t se t s the pa t te rn and course o f t he who le p ro jec t and i s t hus ex t reme ly in f l uen t ia l . T ha t i s t he reason fo r t he h igh va lue p laced on s t ra teg ic cons idera t i ons . Ko t te r (1996 ) i ns i nua tes repea ted ly t ha t management a l one i s no t su f f i c i en t t o ensu re the rea l i sa t ion o f t he manda te o r v i s i on ; he s ta t es tha t l eade rsh ip i s t he sec re t because o f t he l eade r ’ s ab i l i t y t o i l l um ine the v i s i on and i nsp i re ene rge t i c ac t i on t owards i t .

The Careb ique p ro jec t con f o rms to the t yp i ca l S -cu rve tha t charac te r i ses mos t p ro jec t s . The i n i t i a l phase i s even exagge ra t ed l y l ow on bo th ou tpu t and expense l eve l s . S imp l y pu t , i t t ook a long t ime to rea l l y ge t s t a r t ed . I n f ac t t he i dea t ha t ‘ a bunch o f k ids cons idered go ing to a Po r tuguese speak ing coun t r y w i thou t f o rma l t r a i n ing and expe r i ence seemed no t on l y unce r ta in and r i sky , bu t susp i c i ous and c razy . To l end c red ib i l i t y and a veh i c le th rough wh i ch nego t ia t i ons cou ld be conduc ted , t he Ca reb ique Up l i f tmen t T rus t (CUT) was founded i n 2002 . Th i s was an ear l y m i les tone . Much t ime was i nves ted to iden t i f y and ‘ se l l ’ po t en t i a l s takeho lders l i ke RAU (UJ ) , FDC and AJAM. The men t i oned s ign ing o f Memorandums o f Ag reemen t w i th these i ns t i t u t i ons rep resen ted add i t i ona l m i l es tones tha t we re reached . W i th the s t ra teg ic a l l i ances in p l ace a gene ra l P ro jec t P roposa l was d rawn up . The P ro jec t P roposa l had as i t s a im t o t r ans la te t he vague ob jec t i ves i n to spec i f i c goa l s , t ha t i s , s i x m in i -p ro jec ts . The P ro jec t P roposa l d id a t t emp t a p roo f o f f eas ib i l i t y , bu t re t rospec t i ve eva lua t i on shows t ha t guess ing and assump t i ons we re t oo eas i l y i nc l uded . The P ro jec t P roposa l d id no t dea l d i rec t l y and hones t l y w i t h t he amb igu i t i es and r i sks inhe ren t l y i nvo lved i n a un ique and p ionee r ing in i t i a t i ve .

Bu rke (2004 :43 ) l i s t s a feas ib i l i t y s t udy , bas ic ro l e d i v i s i on , s takeho lder ana l ys i s and a v i ab i l i t y ana lys i s as cen t ra l t o the Concep t phase . I n t he Ca reb ique p ro jec t t hese tang ib les d i spe rsed much o f t he na ïve idea l i sm tha t was p resen t i n many o f t he p rospec t i ve vo lun teers . Ear l y fund ing p rob lems cu t t he co re team o f f u l l - t ime vo lun t ee rs f r om fou r t o t h ree . The lag ( t ime de lay ) o f t he f i r s t phase b rough t the t eam f rom th ree t o t wo and ro le d i v i s i on con f l i c t r educed the vo lun t ee r team to one ( the P ro jec t

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Manage r ) . Rega rd ing t he feas ib i l i t y s t udy , i t needs to be s ta ted tha t i t was no t p l anned , conduc ted no r rev iewed ! Ins tead o f a f eas ib i l i t y s t udy i n fo rma l consu l ta t i on was done and a s t rong in te rna l commi tment seemed t o have dec ided tha t wha t eve r p rob lems came up , i t wou ld be overcome . Rega rd ing p ro jec t managemen t techn ique , t h i s app roach i s a t roc ious , rega rd ing su rv i va l i n A f r i ca ; i t seems tha t reso l ve can a t t imes compensa te fo r compe tence .

Rega rd ing spec i f i c p ro jec t se lec t ion w i t h i n t he b road s logan o f ‘ r a i s i ng the s tandard ’ i t can be observed tha t t he p ro jec t was and s t i l l i s t r u l y pa r t i c i pa t i ve . Commun i t y members were ac t i ve l y i nvo l ved i n need ana l ys i s and dev i s i ng schemes to mee t these needs . A fo rma l Need Ana l ys i s was a l so conduc t ed by consu l t an t s f r om AJAM. These p rocesses were engaged i n s imu l t aneous ly f r om Mapu to , Man i ca and Johannesbu rg . Th i s i nvo l ved d is t ances o f 1 800 km ac ross na t i ona l bo rde rs and invo l v ing l anguage d i f f i cu l t i es . Consequen t l y t he concep t i on phase was ted ious , f r us t ra t i ng and uncer t a i n . Ye t t he t ime spen t pu t t i ng a l l t he p ieces i n p lace seemed to pay d iv i dends . I t i s r ecogn i sed t ha t t he concep t i on phase ho lds the g rea tes t i n f l uence po ten t i a l t o d i rec t a p ro jec t (Burke 2004 , S teyn e t a l . 2003 , Mered i t h & Man te l 2003 ) . T h is was con f i rmed by the Careb ique exper i ence . Coun t i ng in t he p ro jec t ’ s f avour was tha t t he re was no execu t i ve s takeho lder t ha t p l aced an a r t i f i c ia l dead l ine , o r qua l i t y spec i f i ca t i ons , o r l im i ted scope on t he p ro jec t . T he re fo re s lack was a f fo rded i n a l l t h ree o f t hese a reas cen t ra l t o success fu l p ro jec t managemen t (S teyn e t a l . 2003 : 8 ) i nc l ud ing p ro jec t concep t i on and i n i t i a t i on .

3 .2 Des ign and P lan (A lso ca l l ed Des ign and Deve lop)

Du r i ng t he des ign phase , t he p ro jec t t akes conc re t e fo rm i n te rms o f chosen so lu t i ons tha t a re accep tab le i n te rms o f t he p ro jec t r equ i remen ts . Burke (2004 :94) s ta tes t ha t t he p lann ing phase shou ld commun ica t e i n fo rma t i on rega rd ing p lann ing t o t he who le p ro jec t t eam as we l l as to the s takeho lders and t ha t l eads a l l o f t he i nvo l ved pa r t i es t o ‘ s i gn -on ’ o r ‘ buy in ’ , r esu l t i ng i n i nc reased suppo r t and e f fo r t . Th rough t hough t fu l p lann ing the p ro jec t manage r and t eam wan ts t o ensu re tha t imp lemen ta t i on can take p lace smoo th ly i n t he subsequen t phases . Su re ly the t ime spen t on p lann ing and des ign w i l l be made up and supe rseded i n the imp lemen ta t ion phase . W i th Ca reb ique however , t he re was a rush t o s ta r t imp lemen ta t i on i n o rde r to secu re fund ing and suppor t . The re was a be l i e f t ha t ‘ peop le g i ve suppo r t f o r rea l p ro jec t s , no t f o r d reams . ’

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There cou ld thus be de t ec ted an idea tha t p l ann ing was cons idered less c red ib l e and l ess marke tab le than show ing rea l r esu l t s i n the f i e ld a t g rass - roo t l eve l . One wonde rs whe the r these fea rs we re no t more o f a neuros i s on the par t o f t he P ro jec t Manage r t han rea l l y be ing leg i t ima te cons t ra i n t s to p rope r p l ann ing . Ye t , money was no t ro l l i ng in and s ta r t i ng imp lement a t ion d id in fac t r a i se income leve l s f r om p r i va te dono rs .

S teyn e t a l . ( 2003 : 5 ) ment ions t ha t un iqueness and h ighe r r i sk runs pa ra l l e l i n a l l p ro jec ts . I f un iqueness ra i ses so does t he r i sks invo lved , because i t r educes t he app l i cab i l i t y o f case s tud ies t ha t can p red i c t ou tcomes . I n the case o f t he Ca reb ique p ro jec t , t he s t rong o rgan isa t i ona l a l l i ances tha t we re es tab l i shed ove rshadowed some o f t he fa i l u res i n the concep t i on phase , l i ke the feas ib i l i t y s tudy d iscussed in the p rev ious sec t ion . The exc i t emen t t ha t accompan ied the i dea t ha t t he p ro jec t , wh i ch was no t much more than a d ream f o r 18 mon ths , was ac t ua l l y t ak ing o f f overshadowed t he p lann ing phase . To be fa i r , some e f f o r t s we re made : a l a rge p resen ta t i on and b ra ins to rm ing mee t i ng was he ld a t RAU (2001 ) and consu l ta t i on o f va r ious expe r t s con t inued th roughou t the p rocess . Many ideas were t rans la ted i n to l i t t l e budge ts and goa l s were s t i pu la t ed . These i nc luded o f f i ce and hous ing fac i l i t i e s , f und ra i s i ng mechan isms and i n f ras t ruc tu re a r rangement s .

The re we re a l so ex t ravagan t p l ans tha t neve r came c lose to rea l i sa t i on . One examp le was a p r i va te company tha t p rom ised t o p rov ide 25% o f t he t o t a l cos ts env i s i oned , bu t s imp l y d i sappeared when t he t ime came to de l i ve r . Ano the r was hou rs o f p l ann ing and nego t ia t i ng to t he f i nes t de ta i l s w i th a la rge hea l th ca re o rgan i sa t ion t ha t we re t o es t ab l i sh a c l i n i c i n t he town o f Vanduz i . Th i s mu l t i -m i l l i on rand dea l was neve r te rm ina t ed o r re j ec ted , bu t d i ed a s low dea t h tha t neve r de l i ve red any tang ib l es . Neve r the less , t h i s fa i l ed hea l th ca re i dea p roduced t he bes t p l ann ing o f t he who le Ca reb ique P ro jec t , bes ides o f f cou rse t he te rm ina t i on by s ta rva t i on (Mered i th & Mant e l 2004 :648) t ha t occur red . Hav ing T rus t ees , co -o rd ina to rs and Vo lun tee rs tha t a re emp loyed i n o t he r i ns t i t u t i ons than t he p ro jec t cou ld be ca l l ed an in te r - i ns t i t u t i ona l ma t r i x s t ruc tu re . W i t h bas i ca l l y on l y the P ro jec t Manage r l e f t o f t he o r ig i na l f u l l -t ime t eam in t he p lann ing and des ign phase , do ing a W ork B reakdown S t ruc tu re (WBS) was ha rd l y necessa ry ; he had to pe r f o rm a l l t he tasks a t hand ! Th is acco rd ing ly p l aced severe t ime managemen t p ressu re on the P ro jec t Manage r and i t can be a rgued tha t a t t imes he fe l t so ove rwhe lmed tha t he abandoned fo rma l t ime managemen t and p lann ing , ge t t i ng caugh t up i n the da i l y t asks a t hand . These t ime

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cons t ra i n t s coup led w i th a f i nanc ia l a l l owance tha t we re fa r be low a feas ib l e m in imum a t t he t ime does exp la i n many o f t he manage r i a l sho r t com ings obse rvab le in the Ca reb ique P ro jec t du r i ng the des ign and p lann ing phase .

Fu r the r sho r t com ings we re tha t a C r i t i ca l Pa th Me t hod (CPM) was neve r u t i l i sed i n the p lann ing p rocess . Such a techn ique coup led w i th bas ic Gan t t Cha r t s cou ld have p rov ided he lp f u l s t ruc tu re in wha t was a ve ry t u rbu len t phase (S teyn e t a l . 2003 :32 ,93 & 130) . A l though t he ma jo r p lann ing me thods we re no t u t i l i sed i n the Ca reb ique p ro jec t , t hey a re b r i e f l y i l l u s t ra ted in the Append i ces (C , D , E and F ) .

Fu r the rmore , t he P ro jec t P lan f o rmu la ted in the Concep t Phase was never e l abora ted i n to a Base l i ne p lan tha t con t a ined the requ i red de ta i l s t o ensu re p roduc t i ve imp lemen ta t ion (Bu rke 2004 :28 ,29 ) . I n re t rospec t i t seems tha t h i s was neve r done because the P ro jec t p lan was bas i ca l l y be ing use as a se l l i ng documen t and no t cons idered t o be a b l uepr i n t f o r t he ope ra t i ons in Man i ca ; i t was pe rhaps cons idered a gu ide l ine , bu t no t a day to day d i rec t i on p rov ide r . Aga in the unce r ta i n t ies i nvo l ved made i t seem l i ke a was te o f p rec ious t ime t o p lan (guess ) fo r t he unknowab le . Th i s men ta l i t y revea ls a lack o f know ledge o r ma tu r i t y . On a pos i t i ve no t e , t he P ro jec t P lan was upda t ed f rom t ime t o t ime as ce r ta in va r i ab les changed o r unce r ta i n t i es became c lea r . I n an exce l len t s tudy by Cou r tney , K i r k l and & V ique r ie (1999) va r i ous ways o f p lann ing and dea l i ng w i t h unce r ta i n t y i s d i scussed . T he wr i t e r f ound t h i s ana l ys i s so use f u l f o r a p ro jec t l i ke Ca reb ique tha t i t i s appended (Append i x B ) . The au t ho rs re i t e ra te the exac t pe rce ived fa i l u re o f Ca reb ique p lann ing , as t hey re f l ec t on h igh leve l s o f unce r ta in t y : “ i t i s c r i t i ca l t o avo id the u rge t o t h row up your hands and ac t pu re l y on gu t i ns t i nc t ” ( 1999 :14 ) . Neve r the less , t he p ro jec t con t i nued th rough t he l i f e cyc le , t o the nex t phase , t ha t o f imp lemen ta t ion .

3 .3 Imp lemen t and Deve lop (A lso ca l l ed I mp lement a t ion and Execu t i on )

Robb ins & Cou l te r (2005 :172 ) adv i ses s t rong ly tha t t he f l ex ib i l i t y o f p lans a re pa r t i cu la r l y impo r tan t i n an imp lemen ta t ion phase . The p ro jec t manage r shou ld s tay a le r t t o env i ronmen t a l changes t ha t cou ld impac t t he e f fec t i ve imp lement a t ion o f p l ans and make changes i f needed . Dur i ng the imp lement a t ion phase the re i s an ongo ing cyc le o f p lann ing -mon i to r i ng -con t ro l l i ng . I n t h i s equa t i on p lann ing i s f o l l owed by obse rv ing and t rack ing ,

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wh ich i s aga in fo l l owed by con t ro l l i ng i n te rven t i ons to regu la t e d i spa r i t i es . Th i s m in i - cyc le i s pe rpe tua l l y conce rned w i th scope , qua l i t y , t ime and cos t .

The permanen t es tab l i shment and commencemen t o f ope ra t i ons i n Mozamb ique was v iewed as a ma jo r m i l es tone . I t was made poss ib l e a f te r t he pu rchase o f a su i t ab le veh ic l e and secur i ng cons tan t mont h l y i ncomes in the f o rm o f dona t ions . I n gene ra l t he imp lemen ta t ion phase o f t he Ca reb ique P ro jec t can be cons ide red much more success f u l t han t he p lann ing phase bo th i n te rms o f ou t come and e f f i c i ency . The P ro jec t Manage r has revea led ex t reme f l ex i b i l i t y and soc ia l l ea rn ing . A ma jo r pa r t o f imp lemen ta t ion was in t eg ra t i on : t ha t i s t o say becoming par t o f t he commun i t y . Bes ides requ i r i ng the l ea rn ing o f Po r tuguese the encu l tu ra t i on p rocess p laced un ique cons t ra i n t and o f fe red un ique cha l l enges t o t he Sou th A f r i can based managemen t t eam. Soc ia l l ea rn ing and par t i c i pa t i ve p lann ing became pa r t and pa rce l o f t he Ca reb ique i n i t i a t i ve . T h i s p rocess a lso took t ime and he re l i es the bene f i t o f no t hav ing a l a rge pa t ron o r company tha t demands rap id ‘ r e tu rn on i nves t men t ’ . These demands to p roduce a l o t i n l i t t l e t ime , o f ten sac r i f i ces the app roach and i n tended ph i l osophy o f soc ia l deve lopmen t p ro jec t s . The re i s l i t t l e ev idence t ha t t he Careb ique p ro jec t has eve r compromised on t he i r ph i l osoph ica l va lues o r s ta ted app roach . T h is can t hus be t e rmed a success in te rms o f t he qua l i t y va r i ab le .

The dominan t imp lement a t ion s t ra tegy tha t i s s t i l l be ing fo l l owed a f te r t h ree yea rs o f ope ra t i ons i s : i n t eg ra t i on , obse rva t i on , acqua in tance , resou rce sou rc i ng , imp lemen ta t ion , mon i to r i ng , con t ro l and eva lua t ion . Th i s m in i - cyc le i s success fu l l y emp loyed to sus ta in a s teady f l ow o f sma l l -w ins . Such sma l l w ins i s an e f f ec t i ve , l ow- r i sk s t ra tegy to keep the t eam mo t i va ted , t o keep ou ts i de inves to rs i n t e res ted and to ma in ta in a p ro jec t momen t um wh i ch t he P ro jec t Manage r has desc r i bed as c ruc ia l : “ I f we can look back a f te r eve ry yea r and see b la tan t l y t ha t t h i ngs go t be t t e r , t ha t we a re on t he way up , mo t i va t i on becomes easy and t he who le t eam, i nc lud ing myse l f can con t inue t o do good work w i th i nsu f f i c i en t f unds and remunera t i on . ” I ndeed mo t i va t i ng no t on l y t he immed ia te p ro jec t t eam, bu t a l so l a rge segmen ts o f t he commun i t y seems t o be a ma jo r success o f t he Ca reb ique i n i t i a t i ve . The o rgan ic g row th t ha t t he p ro jec t unde rwen t and unde rgoes l ends au t hen t i c i t y t o the i n i t i a t i ve s i nce the commun i t y saw the p ro jec t ‘ g row ing up ’ i n f r on t o f t he i r own eyes .

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Pro jec t management expe r t s (S teyn e t a l . 2003 , Bu rke 2004 , Mered i t h & Man te l 2003 and Van de r W a l t & Kn ipe 2004 ) ag rees on the va lue o f commun ica t i on i n a l l cyc les , bu t espec ia l l y i n the imp lemen ta t i on par t o f t he p ro jec t l i f e -cyc le . Here Ca reb ique has a l o t t o o f fe r . Desp i te l anguage d i f f i cu l t i es such as t ha t t he P ro jec t Manage r needed t o lea rn Por t uguese , commun ica t ion has been one o f t he p ro jec t ’ s s t reng ths . T h i s w i l l be expanded on in t he las t sec t i on o f t he essay dea l ing w i th successes and fa i l u res .

The imp lemen ta t i on o f t he Ca reb ique P ro jec t i s subd iv i ded in t o a few m in i -p ro jec t s . These p ro jec ts ex i s t i n ve ry c lose p rox im i t y and share numerous resou rces , ye t i t i s managed w i th de f i n i t e au t onomy . The Compu te r Schoo l has a P r inc ip le T eache r runn ing a f fa i r s tha t i nc l udes cu r r i cu lum, teach ing , admin is t ra t ion , vo lun tee r teache rs , p rocuremen t , f i nance , s tuden t ma t te rs , ma rke t ing , mon i to r i ng and con t ro l . T he Eng l i sh Schoo l has a P r i nc ip le tha t f u l f i l s a ro le equ i va len t t o tha t o f t he P r i nc ipa l Comput e r T eache r . The Band Leader i s respons ib l e f o r marke t i ng , a r rang ing shows , se l l i ng reco rds , reco rd ing new records , t r a i n ing new mus ic i ans and do ing soc ia l educa t ion . The va r ious spo r t s manage rs , coaches and teams a l so manage the i r a f fa i r s w i th au tonomy , be ing respons ib le f o r successes and fa i l u res , l ea rn ing f rom the i r own m is takes and be ing p roud o f t he i r own ach ievemen t s . I n numerous cases i t i s c l ea r tha t Man icans can change t he i r own fu tu res w i th on l y a l i t t l e ass is t ance i n te rms o f cap i ta l o r equ ipment to b reak the s t rang leho ld o f pove r t y . Careb ique ’s d r i ve f o r qua l i t y and exce l l ence i s summar ised we l l by Wordswor th ( c i t ed i n Bu rke 2004 ) who exp ressed the fo l l ow ing t ru i sm tha t i s pa r t i cu la r l y re levan t f o r p ro jec t deve lopmen t and imp lemen ta t ion : “ I t t akes less t ime t o do a job r i gh t t han to exp la in why you d id the job w rong i n t he f i r s t p lace . ”

3 .4 Te rm ina t i on and Eva lua t ion (A l so ca l l ed handover )

The Careb ique p ro jec t i s s t i l l ope ra t iona l wh i ch means t ha t an assesmen t o f t e rm ina t i on and eva lua t i on i s no t poss ib l e in te rms o f abso lu te f i na l i t y . As was shown in the d iscuss ion o f t he p lanned hea l t h ca re in i t i a t i ve , i t i s poss ib le t o d i scuss sma l le r o r a l t e rna t i ve aspec ts o f t e rm ina t i on and eva lua t i on . As men t i oned the Ca reb ique p ro jec t has ach ieved numerous ‘ sma l l -w ins ’ whe the r t he record ing o f an a lbum o r the comp le t ion o f a socce r -league . These m in i -p ro jec ts can be te rm ina t ed , eva lua ted and ce lebra ted . They a l so p rov ide exce l l en t oppo r t un i t y f o r ou t wa rd commun ica t ion . The handove r o r t e rm ina t i on phase obv ious l y ho lds un ique oppo r tun i t i es , espec ia l l y f o r pub l i c

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ce leb ra t ion o f m i l es tones o r successes . “Commun ica t i ng e f fec t i ve ly th rough o r w i th the med ia t o commun i t y s t ake ho lders i s as impo r tan t as unde rs tand ing the bas i c scope o f t he p ro jec t i t se l f . ” says Chance Re i che l , p res iden t o f t he US-based Academy o f P ro jec t Managemen t (Pappas 2003 :25 ) . T o th i s pu rpose Careb ique has a regu la r and w ide ly read news le t te r ca l l ed Biquenews . T hese news le t te rs w i l l a l so be va luab le documen ted accoun ts when the t ime comes fo r f i na l p ro jec t t e rm ina t i on , wh i ch inc l udes i s comp i l i ng t he p ro jec t h i s t o ry and w r i t i ng the f i na l r epo r t (Mered i th & Mant e l 2003 : 661 ) . Even these m ino r te rm ina t i on and eva lua t i on momen ts can be used fo r d idac t i c pu rposes . T he p ro jec t manage r and h igh rank ing ro le p l aye rs have the power to add s ign i f i can t va lue to t he p ro jec t expe r ience . Char l es Pe r r y , CEO o f I ns i gh t Managemen t G roup sums t h i s po in t up conc ise l y as he s ta tes : “Execu t i ves can a lso impac t p ro jec t success by a l l ow ing adequa t e t ime a t t he end o f p ro jec t s to recap successes and weaknesses , rev iew and documen t l essons lea rned and s i gno f f on ob jec t i ves ach ieved” ( c i t ed i n Pappas 2005 ) .

Me red i th and Man t e l ( 2003 :643) a f f i rms tha t “ t he p rocess o f t e rm ina t i on i s neve r easy , a lways comp l i ca t ed , and , as much as we m igh t w i sh t o avo id i t , a lmos t a lways inev i tab le ” . Due to t h i s comp l i ca ted and d i f f i cu l t na t u re t he same au tho rs l i s t f ou r t ypes o f p ro jec t t e rm ina t i on : Ex t i nc t i on , Add i t i on , I n teg ra t i on and S ta rva t i on . The no rm i s i n t eg ra t i on wh i l s t s ta rva t i on i s a lmos t exc lus ive l y reserved fo r po l i t i ca l l y sens i t i ve p ro jec ts tha t need to d ie a qu ie t dea th ( i b i d : 645-648 ) . Wh ich o f t hese me thods w i l l be used by t he Ca reb ique P rogram i s no t ye t c l ea r , a l t hough s ta rva t i on and ex t i nc t i on seems un l i ke ly . The mos t l i ke l y s i t ua t ion seems to be a po in t o f severe decen t ra l i sa t i on when a l l t he d i f f e ren t e l ement s sp l i t up and con t i nue i t s ex is t ence comp le te l y on i t s own. Thus t he cons t i t uen t pa r t s w i l l con t inue wh i l s t t he pa ren t p ro jec t cease t o ope ra te o r s ta r t s opera t i ons e l sewhere . Such fo rm o f t e rm ina t i on does no t f i t nea t l y i n to add i t i on o r i n t eg ra t i on e i the r , wh i ch means none o f t he s t anda rd t e rm ina t ion me thods a re app l i cab le . T he Ca reb ique p ro jec t ca l l s t he i r p roposed te rm ina t i on me thod : Te rm ina t i on by D is i n teg ra t ion , imp l y i ng a p rocess as desc r i bed above .

I n soc ia l deve lopment , p ro jec t t e rm ina t i on i s o f ten v i ewed as a s i gn i f i can t m i les tone whe re t he p ro jec t i s ‘ handed over ’ t o the commun i t y , usua l l y accompan ied by cameras and repo r te rs . Such even t s can a t t imes be t ray t he p ro jec t by i ns inua t i ng tha t i f t he commun i t y ‘ r ece ives ’ t he p ro jec t a t t e rm ina t i on , i t neve r was a pa r t i c i pa t i ve and

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au t hen t i ca l l y g rass - roo t p ro jec t i n t he f i r s t p l ace . T he Ca reb ique P ro jec t Manage r spends an ave rage o f f i ve mont hs annua l l y i n Johannesburg , w i th ac t i v i t i es in Man i ca runn ing smoo th ly du r ing those mon ths . Tha t seems to ind i ca t e t ha t t he ‘ commun i t y ’ does no t need some mag ica l hand -over ce remony to a f f i rm ownersh ip and revea l t he i r capab i l i t y o f r unn ing the p ro jec t . Th is a f f i rms a t e rm ina t i on by d i s i n teg ra t ion where m in i -p ro jec t s tu rn i n to m in i -p rog rams o r au tonomous m ic ro -p ro jec t s .

4 . Successes an d F a i lu res

Commenc ing w i th the p ro jec t weaknesses and fa i l u res , we re f l ec t f i r s t l y on the men t i oned fa i l u re o f p l ann ing . McG ra t h & Macmi l l an u rges manage rs to make use o f d i scove ry -based p lann ing and to con f ron t and document unce r t a i n t i es hones t l y , open ly and t ho rough l y : “When a s i gn i f i can t s t ra teg i c unde r tak ing i s f r augh t w i th uncer t a i n t y , d i scove ry -d r i ven p lann ing i s an espec ia l l y power fu l t oo l i t acknowledges t ha t a t t he s ta r t o f a new ven t u re , l i t t l e i s known and much i s assumed . (1999 :108 -110 ) . Careb ique wou ld have done be t te r t o s t ay secu re and ca lm du r i ng the p lann ing phase as we l l as in subsequen t scena r ios whe re p rope r p lann ing cou ld have been bene f i c ia l . The excuse o f t ime and resources coup led w i th unce r ta i n t y i s pa r t l y va l i d , bu t be t t e r use cou ld s t i l l have been made o f p rope r p l ann ing too l s .

A ma jo r o r pe rhaps t he ma jo r weakness o f t he Ca reb ique P ro jec t i s t he lack o f f und ing and lack o f compe ten t add i t i ona l s ta f f i ng . The f i gu res compr i s i ng the mon t h l y and year l y budge ts a re a lmos t l i t e ra l l y unbe l i evab le and the long - te rm sus ta inab i l i t y o f t he p ro jec t i s heav i l y dependen t on con t inued and en la rged f i nanc ia l suppo r t . The cu r ren t i nd iv i dua l s i nvo l ved i n t he p ro jec t can be labe l l ed t a l en t ed and possess upward mob i l i t y . T o ensure con t i nued se rv i ce , remune ra t ion w i l l have t o be inc reased . Th rea t ened w i t h scarce resou rces and t u rbu len t se t t l i ng yea rs t he p ro jec t has no t a t t r ac ted t he po t en t i a l f o re ign vo lun tee rs i t cou ld have . Such vo lun teers cou ld have p rov ided i nva luab le se rv i ces to the p ro jec t . Pa r t o f t he l ack o f vo lun tee rs i s ce r ta i n l y a l so due to the l oca t ion o f t he p ro jec t , i n a ma la r i a - zone , ex t reme ly ho t i n summer and fa r removed f rom l a rge c i t i es l i ke Johannesburg and P re to r i a . On a pos i t i ve no te an Eng inee r cu r ren t l y res id ing i n Aus t ra l i a w i l l j o in the p ro jec t f r om Janua ry 2006 un t i l June 2006 as a fu l l - t ime vo lun t ee r i n Man ica .

Con t ro l and document a t ion has a l so been a weakness a t t imes . G i v ing oppo r tun i t y , au t ho r i t y and respons ib i l i t y t o peop le fo r t he f i r s t t ime , imp l i es tha t f a i l u res w i l l occur and

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t ha t ‘ schoo l f ees ’ w i l l be pa id . An examp le o f t h i s was t ha t one o f t he Comput e r Schoo l ’ s rece ip t books we re ‘ l os t ’ . On numerous occas ions expenses was made w i th a mere ve rba l r epo r t and no rece ip ts o f fe red . Th is p roved to be a rea l p rob lem s ince a lmos t a t h i rd o f a l l t he goods p rov ide rs i n Man i ca s imp l y does no t g i ve rece ip ts o r t i l l s l i ps ! Added to th i s d i f f i cu l t y i s t he p rob lem o f exchang ing f o re ign cu r rency . The ma jo r p rob lem was exchang ing Z imbabwean Do l l a r s wh i ch had to be exc lus i ve ly t r aded on the b lack marke t , wh ich aga in had no pape r t r a i l o f exchange ra t es and amoun t s t ha t was changed .

Human Resou rce fa i l u re i s a ho r r i f i ca l l y b rusque te rm, ye t t he re we re a t t imes p rec i se ly tha t . T he mos t s i gn i f i can t accoun t and pe rhaps the ove ra l l l ow po in t o f t he p ro jec t was the d i scovery t ha t t he f i r s t Compu te r Teache r and a gene ra l vo lun tee r was d i shones t i nd i v i dua l s t ha t s t o le money . T hey we re d i scove red and consequen t l y expe l l ed f rom the p ro jec t . Tha t ep isode was t raumat i c i n t he con tex t o f t he pe rsona l and re la t i ona l na t u re o f t he p ro jec t . Ano t he r examp le o f i nd iv i dua l s ac t i ng i r r a t i ona l l y was the land lo rd o f t he Coccorosse (ment ioned ea r l i e r ) House tha t gave a two day no t i ce t ha t ren t was to be inc reased by 300% overn igh t ! T he p ro jec t had to evacua te w i th in 24 hours no t t o be l i ab le fo r t he i nc reased amoun t a t mon t h -end and a new l oca t ion had to be i den t i f i ed , p rocu red , p repa red and moved i n to w i t h i n 48 hours . Remarkab l y , t h i s was accomp l i shed .

Tu rn ing to s t reng ths and successes , t he P ro jec t Manage r shou ld be men t i oned . W ha t he lacked i n techn i ca l sk i l l s he made up i n i n te rpersona l and o the r sk i l l s . Commun ica t ion has been men t i oned ear l i e r and i t shou ld be no ted t ha t i n a c ross -cu l t u ra l p ro jec t non -ve rba l commun ica t ion i s o f pa ramoun t impo r tance . P lay ing socce r , d r ink i ng a bee r a t t he l oca l pub , pa r t i c i pa t ing i n soc ia l even t s , keep ing sma l l p rom ises , remember ing names , g ree t ing peop le i n a f r i end l y manne r , d ress ing down , p l ay ing w i t h ch i l d ren , no t p lay ing w i th women and mak ing f r i ends a re a l l e lemen ts l i s ted by t he P ro jec t Manage r as impo r tan t i n fo rma l commun ica t i ons . Mered i th & Mant e l ( 2003 : 128 -144 , 646 ) repea t ed l y s t resses t he need fo r t he P ro jec t Manage r to be po l i t i ca l l y sens i t i ve and t h i s i s a success o f t he Ca reb ique P ro jec t t ha t was c ruc ia l f o r i t s su rv i va l i n Man i ca . The bas i c s t ra tegy emp loyed was cons t an t consu l ta t i on w i th sen io r commun i t y members and i n fo rma l adv i ce ask ing rega rd ing po l i t i ca l quanda r i es o r t h rea t s . T he persona l reso lve , commi tment and sac r i f i ces incu r red by the P ro jec t Manager can be l i s ted as one o f t he c r i t i ca l e l emen t s tha t l ed to p ro jec t success .

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Regard ing t ang ib l e de l i ve rab les the Ca reb ique p ro jec t has many success s t o r ies : The ind igeneous band ca l l ed Ch i kwand ingwa has reco rded two a lbums and i s ve ry we l l known and popu la r i n cen t ra l Mozamb ique , t o the po in t o f expand ing to Z imbabwe , be ing ano the r examp le o f t he SADC embeddedness re fe r red to ea r l i e r . T he Eng l i sh Schoo l has had more than n ine t y pay ing s tuden t s and the Comput e r Schoo l has seen ove r 150 s t uden ts g radua t i ng in M ic roso f t W indows , Word and Exce l . Sma l l Fa rmers have been ass i s ted w i th marke t ing to the ex t en t t ha t Shop r i t e (A f r i ca ’s l a rges t re ta i l e r ) has become a regu la r pu rchase r , buy ing on ions , ga r l i c , beans , t oma toes and l i t ch i s . The v i s i t i ng g roups f rom Sou th A f r i ca and t he Un i ted S ta tes o f Amer i ca can a lso be t e rmed successes . W i th regard t o in f ras t ruc t u re the re has been cons t an t upg rad ing o f ‘ home-base ’ f ac i l i t i es f r om wh ich t he p ro jec t i s run . These f ac i l i t i es tha t i nc l udes in te rne t access , t e l ephones , accommoda t i on , pa rk i ng and s t o rage f ac i l i t i e s p rov ide the necessa ry suppor t s t ruc tu re f o r phys i ca l ac t i v i t i es . Rega rd ing p ro jec t managemen t i t f unc t i ons as the ‘wa r room’ (Mered i th & Man te l 2003 :209 -212 ) . Par t o f t he in f ras t ruc tu re i s t he men t i oned veh i c l e , a mo to rb ike , w ide range o f t oo ls and o f f i ce equ ipmen t tha t i nc l udes an A3 P r i n t e r , A3 Lamina to r and Lap top Compu te r . Fu r the rmore a comp le te s ta te o f t he a r t sound sys tem has been bough t tha t i s used by t he band and ren t ed ou t t o va r ious soc ia l and bus iness func t i ons conduc ted in Man i ca .

The f ac t t ha t t he p ro jec t has been ope ra t i ona l i n Man i ca f o r t he pas t t h ree yea rs i s a huge s t reng t h and many o f t he i n i t i a l doub ts and fea rs has been d isp roved o r ove rcome . Numerous re la t i onsh ips has been bu i l t wh i ch g ives t he p ro jec t d i rec t access to va luab le soc ia l cap i ta l . Be ing pe rce ived by t he commun i t y o f a t own as l eg i t ima te , s i ncere , hones t and va luab le i s some th ing tha t can no t be sa id o f t he ma jo r i t y o f deve lopmen t i n i t i a t i ves , i t does seem t o be app l i cab le t o the Ca reb ique p ro jec t howeve r . The co re team o f f ou r members tha t has been es t ab l i shed has been toge the r fo r t he pas t two and a ha l f years , l end ing s t ab i l i t y and compe tence to the p ro jec t . Th is i s impo r tan t s i nce no p ro jec t o r p ro jec t manage r can be success fu l w i thou t a ded i ca ted , compe ten t and mo t i va t ed t eam. The qua l i t y o f t he l eade rs and the good teamwork a l so es tab l i shed c l ea r and e f fec t i ve channe l s o f commun ica t ion and con t ro l .

5 . Co nc lu s i on

De Geus (1999 :54 ) a rgues t ha t pa in makes peop le and l i v i ng sys tems change and i ndeed o rgan isa t i ons do lea rn th rough pa in , c r i s i s and r i sk managemen t . Careb ique seems to be a

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t i gh t un i t o f f r i ends tha t has dev ised un i t y th rough many hardsh ips . One can agree w i th De Geus ( i b i d ) t ha t change shou ld be p lanned and an t i c i pa t ed . Howeve r , De G eus seems to fo rge t a t r u i sm abou t l i f e i n A f r i ca and l i f e i n Mozamb ique , t ha t peop le a re unp red i c tab le l i ke the wea ther and t ha t sma l l p ro jec ts w i l l be knocked down repea ted ly . The ques t ion i s whe the r they have t he res i l i ence and capac i t y to res is t d i scomfo r t , sho r t - t e rm f a i l u re and i ns t i t u t i ona l impe r fec t i ons . The o rgan i c g row th and opera t i ona l s t ra teg ies desc r ibed ear l i e r (H i s to r i ca l na r ra t i ve , Ph i losophy and L i fe - cyc le chap te rs ) ass i s ted Careb ique t o ma in ta in focus am id a vo la t i l e env i ronmen t .

The successes and s t reng ths o f t he Ca reb ique P ro jec t do in the f i na l ana lys i s t end t o ou t we igh f a i l u res and weaknesses wh i ch tended t o be mos t l y i n admin i s t ra t i on . I mpo r tan t l y t he p ro jec t needs to be eva lua ted f o r wha t i t has ach ieved accord ing to the resou rces i t was a l l oca ted . The l im i ted resou rces have been d i scussed as mos t i n f l uen t ia l f ac to r de t e rm in ing t he managemen t capac i t y . Two o f t he t h ree cen t ra l e lemen ts o f p ro jec t managemen t a re d i s tu rb ing l y absen t i n t he Ca reb ique P ro jec t : F i r s t l y t he l ack o f f und ing and subsequen t l ack o f budge ts ( cos t ) and second l y , t he re i s no p rede te rm ined t ime f rame o r end da t e . T hese om iss ions l ead to the ques t i on o f whe the r Ca reb ique i s no t more o f a p rog ram than a p ro jec t . S teyn e t a l . ( 2003 :7 ) men t i ons tha t p rog rams a re o f an ongo ing na tu re whe reas p ro jec ts have de f i ned te rm ina t i on goa l s . Coun t less soc ia l deve lopmen t p ro jec ts a re be ing run unde r t he banne r o f p ro jec ts , whe re i t wou ld i n f ac t be more accu ra te to re f e r t o them as p rog rams . The P ro jec t Manage r i n fac t men t ioned t ha t he shou ld no t rea l l y be ca l l ed a p ro jec t manage r , bu t ra the r a P rog ram Co-o rd ina to r o r P rogram Manage r . Spec i f i ca l l y he v i ews h imse l f as a M ic ro -P rogram Manage r , wh i ch re f lec ts the na t u re o f t he Ca reb ique in i t i a t i ve we l l .

The Ca reb ique p ro jec t ’ s un ique na tu re posed some un ique cha l l enges to no rma t i ve p ro jec t managemen t mode l s and techn iques . Ye t numerous me thods cou ld s t i l l be emp loyed e f fec t i ve ly to ass i s t t he p ro jec t i n pu rsu i t o f i t s m iss ion , t ha t o f r a i s i ng the s tanda rd o f l i v i ng fo r t he poo r i n Man i ca . Rega rd ing f u l f i lmen t o f t he spec i f i c ob jec t i ves and m in i -p ro jec ts , p ro jec t managemen t techn iques p roved even more cons t ruc t i ve i n reach ing i n t ended ou t comes . The p ro jec t cou ld be we l l adv i sed to make be t te r use o f t he P ro jec t Managemen t Body o f Knowledge (PMBOK) and espec ia l l y compu te r so f twa re l i ke M ic roso f t P ro jec t . Th i s w i l l r equ i re t ime and t ra i n ing - imp l y i ng expenses , however an inves tmen t i n p ro jec t managemen t sk i l l s i s an i nves tmen t tha t i s su re to pay d iv i dends f o r t he Ca reb ique P ro jec t .

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LIST OF REFERENCES

BU RKE , R . 2 00 4 . P ro j e c t M a n ag e m e n t - P la n n i n g & Co n t ro l Te ch n i q u e s , 4 t h e d i t i o n . Ca p e To wn : B u rke P u b l i sh i n g .

CO URTNEY, H . , K I RKLAND, J . , & V IQUIRE, P . 1999 . St ra tegy unde r Unce r ta i n t y i n Harva rd Bus iness Rev iew on Manag ing Unce r ta i n t y , Bos t on : HBS Press .

DAVI DS, I . , T HERON, F . & Maphunye , K . J . 2005 . Pa r t i c i pa t o ry Deve lopmen t i n Sou th A f r i ca - A Deve lopmen t Managemen t Pe rspec t i ve . P re t o r i a : Van Scha i k Pub l i shers .

DE GEUS, A . P . 1999 . P lann ing as Lea rn ing i n Harva rd Bus iness Rev iew on Manag ing Uncer t a i n t y , Bos ton : HBS Press .

DU T OIT , C . Deve lop ing In fo rma t i on : An NG O case s t udy . ( I n Manag ing Sus ta inab le Deve lopmen t i n Sou th A f r i ca . F i t zGera ld , P . , McLennan , A . & Muns low , B . 1999 . Cape Town : Ox fo rd Un ive rs i t y P ress . p . 597 -613 . )

KR UGE R, D . Pr o je c t Co mm u n i ca t i on M a n a g e m en t . ( I n S te y n e t a l . e d s . P r o je c t Ma n a g e m e n t - a Mu l t i - D i s c i p l i n a ry Ap p ro a c h . 2 0 0 3 . P re t o r i a : FP M P u b l i sh i n g . p . 2 7 3 -2 9 8 . )

MCG RAT H, R .G. & MACMILLAN, I .C . 1999 . D i scovery -D r i ven P lann ing . Ha rva rd Bus iness Rev iew on Manag ing Uncer t a i n t y , Bos ton : HBS Press .

M ERE DI TH , J . R . & M A NTE L J R . , S . J . 2 0 03 . P ro j e c t M a na g e m e n t - A Ma n a g e r i a l A p p ro a c h . 5 t h Ed i t i o n . Ne w Y o rk : Jo h n W i l e y .

PA P PA S , L . 2 0 0 3 . Pl a n t i n g S e e d s i n Th e P ro f e ss io n a l M a ga z in e o f t h e P r o je c t M a n a g e m e nt I n s t i t u t e ; Vo l . 1 7 .

PAPPAS, L . 2005 . From F in ish to S ta r t i n The P ro fess iona l Magaz ine o f t he Pro jec t Management I ns t i t u te ; Vo l .21 .

ROB B I NS, S . P . & COUL T ER, M . 2 0 05 . M a n a g e me n t . 8 t h e d i t i o n . Ne w Je r se y : P e a rso n P re n t i ce Ha l l P re ss .

ST EY N, H . , BA S SO N, G . , CA RRUTHE RS , M. , DU P L ES S I S , Y , PR OZE S KY -K US HKE , B . , K RUG ER, D . , V AN E CK , S . & V I S S ER, K . 2 0 0 3 . P r o je c t M a n a g e m e n t - A M u l t i -D i s c i p l i n a ry A p p ro a ch P r e t o r i a : FB M Pu b l i s h in g .

VA N DE R WA L DT, G . & K N I PP E , A . 2 0 0 1 . P ro j e c t M a n a g e me n t Fo r S t ra t e g i c Ch a n g e a n d Up l i f t m e n t . Ca p e To wn : Ox f o rdUn iv e rs i t y P r es s .

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Ap pend ix A

The Pro ject L i fecyc l e : Ad apted f rom Burke (2004 :32)

Total Project Lifecycle >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> T ime >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<< PLAN>>>>>>> > <<<<<<<ACCOMPLISH>>>>>>>>

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4C O N C E P T D E V E L O P M E N T I M P L E M E N T A T I O N T E R M I N A T I O NC o n c e i v e D e v e l o p E x e c u t e F i n i s h

C D E F

G a t h e r d a t a A p p o i n t K e y t e a m S e t U p : F i n a l i s e p r o d u c t sI d e n t i f y n e e d M e m b e r s - o r g a n i z a t i o n R e v i e w & A c c e p tE s t a b l i s h : C o n d u c t S t u d i e s - c o m m u n i c a t i o n s T r a n s f e r p r o d u c t - g o a l s D e v e l o p S c o p e M o t i v a t e t e a m R e s p o n s i b i l i t y- o b j e c t i v e s B a s e l i n e : T e c h n i c a l D e t a i l E v a l u a t e p r o j e c t- e c o n o m i c s - e n d p r o d u c t s r e q u i r e m e n t s D o c u m e n t r e s u l t s- f e a s i b i l i t y - q u a l i t y s t a n d a r d E s t a b l i s h : R e l e a s e o r r e d i r e c t- s t a k e h o l d e r s - r e s o u r c e s - w o r k p a c k a g e s R e s o u r c e s- r i s k l e v e l - a c t i v i t i e s - d e t a i l e d s c h e d u l e R e a s s i g n T e a m- s t r a t e g y E s t a b l i s h : - i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t r o l- p o t e n t i a l t e a m - m a s t e r p l a n S y s t e m sG u e s t i m a t e - b u d g e t , c a s h f l o w P r o c u r e g o o d s & - r e s o u r c e s - W B S s e r v i c e sI d e n t i f y - p o l i c i e s E x e c u t e w o r k - a l t e r n a t i v e s - p r o c e d u r e s P a c k a g e sP r e s e n t p r o p o s a l A s s e s s R i s k D i r e c t / M o n i t o r /O b t a i n a p p r o v a l J u s t i f i c a t i o n F o r e c a s t / C o n t r o l : F o r n e x t p h a s e P r o j e c t B r i e f - s c o p e

O b t a i n a p p r o v a l - q u a l i t y T o p r o c e e d - t i m e

- c o s tR e s o l v e P r o b l e m s

Ap pend ix B – Mode l s for Dea l i ng wi th Uncer ta in tyAdap ted f rom Cou r tney , K i r k l and & V iquer i e (1999 : 6 -9 )

These f i gu res rep resen t va r i ous unce r t a i n fu tu res t ha t de t e rm ine t he s t ra tegy o f a p ro jec t . The Ca reb ique P ro jec t f a l l s w i t h i n the l as t op t ion named ‘ t r ue amb igu i t y ’ . Such h igh leve l s o f unce r ta in t y requ i re more , no t l ess p lann ing ! Ana log ies and pa t te rn recogn i t i on as we l l as Non - l i near

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Dynamic Mode l s can be used as ana ly t i ca l t oo l s i n the l eve l o f t r ue amb igu i t y . P lann ing shou ld cons i s t o f an t i c i pa t i ng va r i ous and d i ve rse scena r i os and much research shou ld be done to compare , no t s im i l a r , bu t ana logous p ro jec t s tha t has been done i n the pas t .

Ap pend ix C

An examp le o f a p l ann ing too l : a Work B rake down S t ruc t u re (WBS) . (Mered i th & Man te l 2003 :261 )

Ap pend ix DAn examp le o f a p l ann ing too l : A C r i t i ca l Pa th Me thod (CPM) . (Mered i th & Man te l 2003 :392 )

Ap pend ix EAn examp le o f a p l ann ing too l :

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A Gan t t Cha r t . (Me red i th & Man te l 2003 :391 )

Ap pend ix FAn i l l us t ra t ion o f how unce r ta in t y d im in i shes as con t inua l p lann ing i s pe r f o rmed . I n th i s case the re a re th ree p lann ing m i l es tones . The wo r th o f such p lann ing i s c l ea r fo r a p ro jec t l i ke Ca reb ique . (Mered i th & Man te l 2003 :17 )

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