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Purpose In comparison to other countries, power generation in Sub-Sahara Africa is poor. Public–private partnership (PPP) model has become increasingly popular for addressing infrastructural challenges, especially in the power sector. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and classify the factors that influence public sector involvement in Ghanaian PPP power projects. Design/methodology/approach Using purposive and snowball sampling techniques, questionnaires were used to gather responses from experts in the PPP power sector in a two round Delphi survey. Analytical tools adopted were descriptive statistics, mean score ranking, Cronbach’s alpha and factor analysis. Findings The most significant factors that influence public sector involvement in PPP power projects were: achieving improved value for money; access to additional capital; increased certainty of projects; greater efficiency of project delivery services; and improved ability to deliver new infrastructure. From factor analysis, the four components were: value for money and efficiency; capital and skills; innovation and technology; and project delivery. Originality/value Government bodies in the power sector will benefit from the findings, as it would aid them develop policies that would strengthen regulatory structures as well as institutions.

Purpose The UK government has elaborated the effect of late payment on the economy, with its impact on the construction sector being particularly pronounced. This paper aims to evaluate the late payment epidemic that persists within the construction industry, specifically analysing the effectiveness of government-led voluntary payment initiatives. Design/methodology/approach A mixed philosophical lens is adopted that incorporates both pragmatism and post-positivism to examine the late payment phenomena. Couched within deductive reasoning and a case study strategy, a questionnaire survey was conducted to elicit responses from one-hundred construction professionals. Elucidating upon respondents’ perceptions of the UK’s late payment epidemic, a comparative analysis was undertaken of upstream (main contractor) and downstream (subcontractors/suppliers) contractors through Cronbach’s alpha, descriptive statistics, independence chi-square test, Kruskal–Wallis test and Mann–Whitney U test. Findings Emergent findings reveal that in practice, the monitoring and enforcement of government-led voluntary payment initiatives has been unprosperous with numerous contractors being forced to adopt indefensibly poor and punitive payment practices. Survey responses and extant literature substantiate and underscore the industry’s need to strengthen voluntary government-led payment initiatives. To create a responsible payment culture, any future code created should be mandatory and enforceable as a self-regulating approach has failed dismally. The work concludes with practical additional measures that could be introduced to create a responsible payment culture and promote ethical trading within the UK construction industry. Originality/value This paper constitutes a novel vignette of, and reflection upon, contemporary practice in this area of construction finance and serves to emphasise that very little has changes in the sector despite numerous UK government led reports and interventions.

PurposeThe demand for power has surged in recent times and continues to increase yearly. In comparison to developed countries, the power industry’s risks, especially in piblic–private partnership (PPP) projects, are more complex and essential in developing countries. Appreciating the inter relationship among these risk factors is crucial. However, there exist no studies developing quantitative models to explain how various PPP power risk factors influence each other, especially in developing countries like Ghana. This study aims to investigate and model the relationship, the probability of occurrence and severity of impact of PPP power risk factors in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through ranking type questionnaire in a two-round Delphi survey with 48 respondents using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used for analysis of data.FindingsA model was developed to investigate the influence the risk factors inherent in PPP power projects have on each other. Validity of the model was tested based on the data collected. PLS-SEM results indicated the various relationships and interdependencies the risk factors had on each other considering their probability and severity. Both significant and insignificant levels of relationships were found among the various risk factors.Practical implicationsThe SEM that was developed to assess the relationships among the risk factors has great value for policy makers in the energy sector, industry practitioners, researchers and industry practitioners. Strategies can be mapped out to mitigate and effectively allocate the risks with the high interdependencies.Originality/valueRegarding the quantitative impact of the interrelationship among risk factors in PPP power projects, the findings of this research are arguably the first to be presented for the construction sector and contribute to knowledge on PPP practice and further has implications toward achieving power sector risk mitigation.

There is a lack of research on the drivers for green cities development in developing countries. This study aims to investigate the key drivers for green cities development in Ghana. To this end, 1...

Worldwide demand for gold has accelerated unregulated, small-scale artisanal gold mining (AGM) activities, which are responsible for widespread environmental pollution in Ghana. This study was cond...

Access to energy is pivotal to the socio-economic growth of many developing countries, including Ghana. Energy generation from fossil fuels is not sustainable and leads to global warming, which is detrimental to the environment. This study seeks to establish how renewable energies are embedded and utilised in the Ghanaian energy system and the factors that can expedite the speedy penetration of renewable technologies into the country, particularly solar PV, wind, and biogas. The study adopted a mixed research approach which includes quantitative and qualitative studies. The findings revealed that solar energy is the most available resource in the country compared to other renewables. It was also indicative that integrating solar PV, wind and biogas in the national electricity grid will improve the percentage of energy generation mix, which will help sustain constant power supply, reduce the cost of energy charges, and consequently improve the country’s economy. The results also showed the possible factors that affect future penetration of these technologies, including unavailability of consumer financing opportunities, inadequate training facilities, lack of adequate regulations/policies, lack of information on the cost and benefits of renewable energies. The six findings of the paper established the availability of renewables in Ghana and the prospect of their related technology. While solar PV is on the ascendency, biogas is progressing gradually and wind is moving at a snail’s pace. This study significantly established the benefits of incorporating solar PV, wind and biogas in the Ghanaian energy mix to improve the electricity supply and further outlined the impeding factors that need to be improved upon through policy.

Climatic parameters such as temperature, rainfall, wind speed, relative humidity and sunshine hours were used to assess reference evapotranspiration and potential crop evapotranspiration of selected crops. The Penmann Monteith method for calculation of Reference Evapotranspiration, which has been incorporated in CROPWAT software, was used. Test crops included rice, tomato and pepper, which were part of the major crops cultivated in the Botanga irrigation scheme. Research findings indicated that temperature (r = 0.653) played a crucial role in assessing reference evapotranspiration and potential evapotranspiration. Temperature was lowest during the months from July to September due to lower solar radiation and higher rainfall. The potential crop evapotranspiration of rice, tomato and pepper were 697, 533 and 427 mm/season respectively. Rice growers will require more water for irrigation to ensure higher production due to its high evapotranspiration rate. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.70.4.7752