Many diaspora building projects start well while the owner is home on holiday, then slow down or stop the moment they fly back. It is rarely one dramatic theft. More often it is small things: materials that never arrive, workers who only turn up when a visit is expected, and progress photos that are weeks old. The fix is a steady routine of independent checking.
Agree the plan in writing before you leave
Before you travel, agree with your contractor on a written schedule of stages (foundation, blockwork to lintel, roofing, and so on), the cost of each stage, and what "done" looks like for each. Pay by stage, not by month, so money follows progress.
Get independent eyes on site
Photos from the contractor are useful, but they come from the person you are paying. An independent visit, weekly or fortnightly, tells you what is really happening. Each visit should record:
- Dated photos and video of the whole site, taken from the same spots each time so progress can be compared
- How many workers were on site
- Materials delivered and in storage, such as blocks, cement, rods and roofing sheets, counted against invoices
- Any quality concerns worth raising with an engineer
Count the materials
Materials are where money most often goes missing. If the invoice says 2,000 blocks and 60 bags of cement were delivered, someone should count them. A simple count on each visit makes it much harder for materials to "move" to another site.
Release money against evidence
Before paying for a stage, ask for evidence that it is complete: a site visit report with photos showing the finished work. If something is not right, you can hold payment until it is fixed.
Know the limits of a site visit
A regular visit checks progress, materials and attendance. It does not replace a structural engineer. For anything to do with structural safety, bring in a qualified professional.
How Pamojo helps
Pamojo can visit your site on a schedule you choose, take photos from the same points each time, count materials against your invoices, and send you a short report comparing this visit with the last one. Recurring visits are billed monthly, and you can pause at any time.
