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Promotion of Decent Work in Southern African Ports (phase II) - Midterm Evaluation

eval_number:

2139

eval_url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/eval/2139

lessons_learned:

themes:

theme:

Programme implementation

category:

Organizational issues

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comments:

Targetted beneficiaries: In South Africa: South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) at the DCT and the Port of Richards Bay, United Transport and Allied Trade Union South African Railways and Harbours Union (UTATU SARWHU) at the DCT and Port of Richards Bay, Transnet Port Terminal, management of DCT Pier 1 and Pier 2, the Port of Richards Bay management, and Transnet Maritime School of Excellence  In Mozamabique: Sindicato dos Trabalhadores dos Portos e Caminhos de Ferro (SIMPOCAF) at the Port of Maputo, MPDC, Consultative Labour Commission (CCT) in Mozambique, and MPDC Union Committee

challenges:

Large organisations, similar to Transnet and MPDC, are riddled with operational challenges. It is important to acknowledge that:  One project with a limited budget and timeframe cannot solve the major issues; and  A project created outside the company itself will have to face a greater challenge with respect to receiving a buy-in than a project initiated internally. Therefore, having a clearly defined work plan with concrete outputs and activities that illustrate how these are to address certain needs or challenges of an organisation is integral. The project plan devised for Phase II, however, included outputs and activities that were too broad. Furthermore, a strategic needs assessment of all stakeholders was not undertaken at the inception of Phase II, which means that alignment among outputs, objectives, and activities of the project and the stakeholders’ actual needs was not always clear.

success:

The PMU has acknowledged the need to differentiate activities between the two localities and have devised work plans separately for ports in South Africa and in Mozambique.

context:

Phase II of the project was planned to be implemented over a two-year period, similar to that of Phase I. However, aside from continuing with the work at the DCT Pier 1 and Pier 2, it included two additional ports and the Maritime School of Excellence. Due to the differences between the countries and among ports, each locality and each port required a more targeted approach. Outputs and activities defined for the localities also needed to be more specific, as many were found to be too broad creating challenges during implementation; areas of intervention, outputs, and activities needed to be more clearly defined for each port. Furthermore, the composition of the PMU has changed only slightly compared to that observed in Phase I. Since direct replication of the approach proven to be successful in Phase I was not possible, it put significant strain on the human resources assigned for the project’s Phase II. In addition to the above, the project faced many challenges with respect to receiving full buy-in from top management of the beneficiary organisations. For example, the implementation of MDWT at the DCT Pier 1 was riddled with numerous challenges. Some of these were directly related to the lack of full buy-in by top management and to internal operational limitations of the terminal. A full buy-in of the project from all parties involved is integral to the success of the project. Without stakeholders’ understanding and commitment, the project is likely to render disappointing results.

description:

It is important to be realistic with respect to the outputs and outcomes planned to be achieved. Due to the complexities of large organisations, it is integral to ensure that the project implemented by a third party (i) identifies specific areas where it aims to make a contribution and (ii) avoids being unrealistic with expectations and ambiguous in defining what is planned to be achieved. A comprehensive understanding of the organisation’s needs and challenges is required at the start of the project. Knowledge of the needs and challenges would provide information on the aspects that might require to be addressed before the initiative is implemented to facilitate the buy-in of the project among various parties. It would also advise on the potential risks and practicality of the proposed initiative. All of the above could assist in refining the scope and defining specific outputs, which could further assist in preventing certain financial and operational risks. Last but not least is the need to take into consideration the top management commitment to support the project and internal capabilities and capacities of an organisation to support its implementation and carry out with selected initiatives beyond the project’s lifespan.

administrative_issues:

In order to optimally manage available resources and achieve tangible outputs, the project should avoid having broad outputs that are open for misinterpretation and that are challenging to translate into specific activities or tasks. In addition, to ensure buy-in from beneficiaries, the project should aim at creating a complete understanding of the challenges and the realised and unrealised needs at the organisation; devising practical and realistic solution to respond to these needs; and illustrating the tangible benefits that would be acquired by beneficiaries.

url:

https://webapps.ilo.org/ievaldiscovery/lessons/203725

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location:

country:

South Africa

region:

Africa

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eval_title:

Promotion of Decent Work in Southern African Ports (phase II) - Midterm Evaluation