Zambians aren't lazy - NCC school principal
By Christopher Miti in Chipata and Fredrick Mwansa in Itezhi-te
Mon 09 Apr. 2012, 13:28 CAT
NATIONAL Council for Construction School principal Francis Mwape says it is not true that Zambian workers are lazy. During the closing ceremony of the Eastern Province road sub-sector provincial training workshop at Eastern Comfort Lodge on Thursday, Mwape said the word ‘lazy' was not respectful to the Zambian worker.
He said
Zambia exported skilled bricklayers to Iraq and that the country also exported nurses to other countries, a sign that the Zambian worker was not lazy. Mwape cautioned contractors to work extremely hard.
He said most of the construction money was going to foreign contractors because they knew how to walk the talk.
"The background to this is that there was an Auditor General's report that highlighted a number of issues that were happening at the Road Development Agency and one of the issues that came up was that actually even if we are growing in the construction industry most of the construction companies that are undertaking works in the road sector are incompetent most of them are running away while others are leaving works that are not living up to the design by experts," he said.
And Eastern Province minister Charles Banda said it was surprising to note that while the PF government had increased the resource envelope for road infrastructure projects, over 60 per cent of the market share was still controlled by foreign contractors.
Banda said one of the functions of the National Council for Construction (NCC) was to empower small and medium-scale enterprises (SMES) in order to improve their performance as they participate in infrastructure development projects.
He said he was delighted to witness the occasion where over 50 local representatives of SMES had undergone a short intensive training covering modules which included preferential procurement based on statutory instrument number 36 of 2011, occupational health and safety and contract administration.
Banda, who was represented by provincial assistant secretary Peter Ngoma, said the construction sector played a very important role which went beyond its share of national output in the development strategy.
"Construction sector's capacity for employment creation and contribution to the national economic activities has been documented by many research institutions and government agencies all over the world. The situation in Zambia is not different and that is why the 2012 budget has a significant allocation for infrastructure development," he said.
Banda urged NCC to intensify training activities for SMES in order to make them competitive because the world was now a global village where Zambia had opened the market for outsiders.
He urged other skills development centres, colleges and vocational training centres countrywide to begin embracing road construction courses.
Banda said the SMES continued to face serious challenges in their quest for meaningful participation in the construction industry.
He said among the challenges were low access to capital, non-availability of dedicated skills development funds and unsustainable project packaging.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CONSTRUCTION
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CABS avails funds for SMEs
Friday, 25 November 2011 00:00
The Central Africa Building Society has targeted to promote grassroots economic growth and equitable sustainable development through providing loans to small and medium enterprises, an official said on Tuesday. The loans range from US$5 000 to US$50 000 payable within 36 months.
CABS managing director Mr Kevin Terry told New Ziana that the package was designed with specific criteria for SMEs to qualify for the loans.
"The package is specifically tailored for companies that are currently employing a minimum number of five workers and the SMEs should have security, in addition to running their businesses in an orderly manner," he said.
Mr Terry said a pool of funds had been set aside and more capital would be availed depending on the response of the targeted beneficiaries.
"The funds for the SME package will be demand driven," he said.
He said the bank was offering loans to the sector because it appreciated that today's SMEs were potential tomorrow's corporates.
"The SME sector is the cradle of enterprise and innovation. It is extremely vibrant and needs to be supported to allow it to continue making meaningful contribution to the creation of wealth in this country.
"We also intend to benefit from an increased client base to which we can offer additional products that are aimed at improving productivity at the workplace," Mr Terry said.
Small and medium enterprises have led the growth of the economies of many countries, contributing 60 percent to Gross Domestic Product and 50 percent to employment. - New Ziana.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, CREDIT FACILITIES, SMEs
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New Zambian wholly-owned company to build $20m Lime plant
Tuesday, March 29, 2011, 10:15
Over 50 jobs will soon be created in Ndola following a decision by a local firm Astrea Investments Limited (AIL) to construct a modern quick lime processing plant in Ndola at a cost of US$20 million this year.
The company will be the second one to venture into lime processing activities in Ndola apart from the existing Ndola Lime Company. AIL public relations manager Kelvin Sampa said plant construction is expected to start in the third quarter of this year.
The plant will have a capacity of 300 tonnes of highly reactive quick lime per day and hopes to end the monopoly in lime supply.
Mr Sampa said this in an interview in Ndola, adding that over 50 jobs will be created and the number is expected to increase in due course.
He said the plant will create opportunities for local people and enhance poverty alleviation.
“It will take 16 months to complete the state-of-the art quick lime plant to be situated in Ndola,” he said.
The company has purchased equipment for the plant from Europe and indicates that it will meet the international environmental standards for pollution control.
Mr Sampa said AIL is a new Zambian wholly-owned company that has expressed interest in the lime manufacturing sector following the high demand for the product due to increased mining projects in Zambia.
He said the company will supplement the insufficient lime products on the market which at times are imported from South Africa and the Middle East.
“The demand for lime is so high that some stakeholders ended up importing from South Africa and the Middle East,” he said.
He said good investment policies have resulted into increased investment on the Copperbelt, and Ndola in particular, adding that Government has continued to attract both local and foreign direct investments.
“We commend Government for ensuring that there is a level playing field in the country by coming up with policies that will advance investment in all economic sectors,” he said.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, NDOLA LIME
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COMMENT - And why isn't there money? Because the mines are not taxed. And who degrades roads the most? The mines.
Inadequate funds cited as reason for uncompleted roads
Monday, June 21, 2010, 21:57
The Road Development Agency (RDA) says most of the works on the roads have not been completed because of inadequate resource allocation to the agency. RDA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Erasmus Chilundika said this when he appeared before the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) today.
Mr. Chilundika told the committee that the agency faces problems with funding saying the allocation towards the construction of roads and bridges in the country required more money which he said has hindered the agency from completing the works on most roads.
He said even the National Roads Fund Agency (NRFA) most of the times failed to fund the construction of roads if the money required was huge. He said some roads and bridges that were not in the RDA work plan were worked on due to the public outcry and called for supplementary funding. He however said that the agency would ensure that roads that have remained uncompleted for sometime were worked on before the end of next year.
He disclosed that the Choma-Namwala road will be completed by the end of this year while the Kasama- Luwingu road would be worked on as well. During the same sitting, Works and Supply Permanent Secretary Watson Ng’ambi said his ministry is committed to ensuring that the agency worked on all the roads in the country where contractors abandoned work before finishing.
He said contractors who have failed to do quality work on the roads would be reported to the NCC to ensure that they are disciplined and that money paid to them would be recovered.
Earlier, Nkana Member of Parliament Mwenya Musenge who is the member of PAC said RDA only carried out road rehabilitation and construction where there was a by election leaving major roads such as the Kasama-Luwingu road which had remained uncompleted for over 10 years.
Mr. Musenge said the agency was not prudent in utilising public resources allocated to them saying it was untrue that the agency had no funds to work on the roads.
But PAC Chairperson Emmanuel Hachipuka urged Mr. Musenge and the committee to leave the by elections out of the deliberations. The chairperson also urged RDA to cooperate with the officers from the Auditor General whenever they visited them to verify reports and said they should ensure that all irregularities were corrected to avoid appearing several times before the PAC.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary said his offices will always be open to receive the officers from the Auditor General adding that they would ensure that measures were taken to correct the errors.
ZANIS
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, ERASMUS CHILUNDIKA, NRFA, RDA, ROADS
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Mutati is raising the standards of public accountability
By Editor
Mon 21 June 2010, 04:00 CAT
To begin with, we would like to refer to the saying of Lenin, that the attitude – that is to say, the seriousness of purpose of a party is measured, basically, by the attitude it takes toward its own errors. And in the same way, the seriousness of purpose of members of a government will be measured by the attitude they take toward their own errors.
Of course, their political opponents are always alert to know what those errors are. When those errors are made and are not subjected to self-criticism, their opponents take advantage of them in a crippling way. When those errors are made and are subjected to self-criticism, they may be used by their political opponents, but in a very different way and less crippling manner.
It is in this light that we see the admission by Felix Mutati, the Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, that there is a lot of abuse in our construction sector as most contractors are ineffective and overpricing on public works as a progressive approach. Mutati says Zambians are tired of undelivered services by contractors. And he wondered why it cost US $150,000 to construct a kilometre tar stretch in Egypt while constructing the same distance in Zambia costs US$1 million.
There is need to hide nothing from the masses of our people. If there are difficulties, mistakes, failures, those difficulties, mistakes, failures shouldn’t be masked. It’s only in this way that we will be able to overcome the challenges and problems facing our country and our people.
There is need for self-criticism in whatever we do because conscientious practice of self-criticism will help us overcome many problems and improve the delivery of services to our people. Self-criticism helps us to get rid of a bad style and keep the good. We should fear neither criticism nor self-criticism.
Let us learn something from the Chinese maxims of “Say all you know and say it without reserve”, “Blame not the speaker but be warned by his words” and “Correct mistakes if you have committed them and guard against them if you have not”.
If those in government have shortcomings, they should not be afraid to have them pointed out and criticised, because they serve the people. Anyone, no matter who, may point out such shortcomings. If he is right, they should be corrected. If what they propose will benefit the people, it should be acted upon.
This is the second time in less than a week that we are expressing agreement with what Felix has said. Early last week, we commended Felix for recognising his mistaken position on the issue of the valuation of Zamtel and apologising to the Zambian people for saying what he shouldn’t have said. This is the honesty we need and want to see from all our political leaders. Consistently practiced, political honesty is a road that leads man’s mind and will to the ideal of a more just, fair and humane society.
No honest person in this country can disagree with Felix’s observations and conclusions that there is a lot of abuse in our construction sector. This is one of the most corrupt sectors of our economy. And this is not a secret.
Felix wonders why a stretch of one kilometre tar costs US $150,000 in Egypt and the same is costing US $1 million in Zambia. There is a simple explanation to this: corruption.
We are paying so highly for poor roads because of corruption. Contracts to construct roads are being given to people with no capacity to do the job. Why? The simple answer is that doing so is beneficial to those charged with the task of awarding such contracts. Most of these contracts go to individuals with strong connections to the ruling party and to those in government. The spoils are shared among them. The construction jobs are overpriced because part of the money goes back to those giving the contracts, to those in power and sometimes to the ruling party for financing election campaigns. There is very little merit in awarding these contracts.
Road construction and maintenance is a big scandal in this country. If all those involved in it were today to be investigated by an independent agency, very few would be found not wanting. There are many government officers and officials who receive kickbacks in the form of houses, farms, automobiles and so on and so forth from people who have been awarded construction jobs by the government. Where there is this type of corruption, accountability is killed.
And when accountability dies, quality control also goes with it. Today we have many road projects which the government has paid for but, as Felix correctly observes, they have not been completed, and nobody is taken to task. People are simply stealing public funds through road projects. We have some of the worst scandals in the feeder roads. Every year, huge allocations are being made for the same roads and paid to the same contractors but no improvement. We have contractors getting more than US$50 million for road works with no delivery or if there is delivery, it is always poor delivery.
And most of these contractors enjoy very close relations with people occupying very high political offices. They are untouchable. They are the financiers of presidents. How can anyone, given the political order in our country today, question them?
Today we have contractors who used to work for government, got fired for wrongdoing and then set themselves up in the construction industry being hired to do government jobs by the same ministry where they were fired. The industry is full of crooked characters of all shades, some of them close associates and family members of those in power. What can one expect from such a motley assortment of all sorts of corrupt elements?
But the question is: why is construction so prone to corruption? We cannot say that everyone in this industry is corrupt. There is a significant number of organisations and individuals in this industry who try to avoid corruption at all costs. The majority of contractors who do engage in corrupt practices tend to do so not because they want to, but because they feel they are forced to by the way the industry and political environment operate. And the huge costs of projects in the construction sector make it easier to hide bribes and inflated claims, a factor compounded by the fact that many construction projects are one-off and costs difficult to compare. This is a highly regulated sector with the requirement for permits every step of the way, making it relatively easy for officials to extract bribes. Every single link in the contractual chain provides an opportunity for bribes to be paid for certifying either too much work or defective work, granting extensions of time, more expeditious payment and so on. On top of this, there is ample scope for concealing work in a situation where most components in a structure end up being concealed.
The best roads we have in our country today are not the ones directly maintained or constructed by our government. Our best roads are those which the donors have directly funded and supervised. Probably it will be better for donors who are really interested in the welfare of our people never to directly give our government money for roads. They should simply agree with the government which road needs to be done and then go ahead and do it themselves.
An example of this is the Kapiri Mposhi-Serenje road which the donors funded and directly supervised. We have a good road and probably for the right price.
There is need for the Zambian people to pay a lot of attention to what is happening in the construction sector, especially the road maintenance side of things. There are huge amounts of money being lost by the government here, being stolen by all sorts of unscrupulous businessmen in collusion with government officials. In this regard, the Ministry of Works and Supply needs to be scrutinised and all it does subjected to a close public eye because a lot of bad things have happened here. Today donors have suspended support to the Road Development Agency because of corruption. But those in charge of the Ministry of Works and Supply have been claiming all is well, the donors are not telling the truth. We wonder what they will say tomorrow about what Felix has said. We will not be surprised to see Felix coming under attack from his own government colleagues who have been benefitting from this corruption.
This corruption in the construction sector affects us as individuals directly. We are paying levy on every litre of fuel we buy and it will be irresponsible for us to just stand by and watch that money being stolen. Poor roads are destroying our automobiles and making the cost of transport very high. When the cost of transport is high, the consumer, the common man, pays very highly for his daily needs. This being the case, why should the Zambian people keep quiet over poor roads? The issue of roads should be put very high on the agenda for next year’s elections.
Felix is showing the Zambian people the way things should be done. He is teaching us something about public accountability. We should not shy away from pointing out deficiencies or inefficiencies in the way government business is conducted. There is need for us to engage government on the way it is using our money and money given to us by donors. This money does not belong to those running the government, it belongs to all of us.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, FELIX MUTATI, FLAME ARAB CONSTRUCTION
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Zambians are tired of undelivered services by contractors – Mutati
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Mon 21 June 2010, 04:01 CAT
COMMERCE minister Felix Mutati has admitted that there is a lot abuse in the construction sector as most contractors are ineffective and over-price public works.
He was speaking during a reception last week to announce the partnering of Flame Arab Constructors with Flame Zambia in setting up a US $10 million quarry cement batching plant and other supporting services for the construction sector in the country.
Mutati said the government was hoping that Flame Arab Constructors, an Egyptian company, would help introduce technology that would assist in lowering the cost of construction to the levels in Egypt.
He wondered why it cost US $150,000 to construct a one kilometre tar stretch in Egypt while constructing the same distance in Zambia costs US $1 million.
“Flame Arab Constructors should demonstrate that it would require around US $350,000 to construct a kilometre of tar road in Zambia...So, let’s bring in the people who are going to deliver for the people of Zambia at a cost-reflective price with good quality so that the competition, the abuse particularly in the construction industry with regard to pricing, to quality, to delivery, we can begin to eliminate it and chop it out,” said Mutati. “Our people, the Zambian people are tired of explanations especially from, particularly from the contractors of ‘why they are unable to deliver’.”
Flame Zambia chairman Mohammed Salama said the company would demonstrate good workmanship through the plant and would want to be engaged in more construction projects in Zambia.
Salama said the technical and financial support that the company expected to receive from Flame Arab Construction would help them reduce the cost of construction in Zambia.
“Through Flame Arab Constructors, we will be bringing down the cost of construction to more developments to happen using the same resources at hand; thus creating more employment and more projects,” Salama said. “We will achieve this by having our own quarry cement plant, which we think will help to reduce the cost of construction in Zambia.”
Salama said Flame Zambia had undertaken some substantial projects, including the construction of Finsbury building at the Kabwe roundabout and Radisson Hotel opposite Arcades shopping centre, in the last four years that the company had been operational in the country.
The company has trained 400 Zambians in various construction skills, and was contributing more to the sector.
And Flame Arab Constructors chairman Ibrahim Mahlab said the company, which achieved a turnover of US $2.5 billion and recorded a backlog of US $4.5 billion worth of projects last year, wanted to contribute to the development of infrastructure in Zambia.
Flame Arab Constructors is also set to train 20 Zambians in different construction skills at the Arab Construction Institute in Egypt.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, FELIX MUTATI, FLAME ARABL CONSTRUCTION
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COMMENT - Mr. Ibrahim Mahlab is CEO of The Arab Contractors Co.
Mutati admits rampant corruption in construction sector
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Thu 17 June 2010, 14:10 CAT
COMMERCE minister Felix Mutati has admitted that there is a lot abuse in the construction sector as most contractors were ineffective and over-pricing on public works.
Speaking at Intercontinental Hotel on Wednesday night when he officiated at the reception to announce the partnering of Flame Arab Constructors with Flame Zambia to spend US $10 million in setting up a quarry cement batching plant and other supporting services for the construction sector in the country, Mutati said Zambians were tired of undelivered services by contractors.
Mutati said the government was hoping that Egyptian company would help introduce technology that would help to lower the cost of construction to the levels in Egypt.
He wondered why it cost US $150,000 to construct a one kilometre tar stretch in Egypt while constructing the same distance in the country costs US $1 million. Flame Arab Constructors should demonstrate that it would require around US $350,000 to construct a kilometre of tar road in Zambia.
“So, let’s bring in the people who are going to deliver for the people of Zambia at a cost-reflective price… with good quality so that the competition, the abuse particularly in the construction industry with regard to pricing, to quality to delivery, we can begin to eliminate it and chop it out,” said Mutati.
“Our people, the Zambian people are tired of explanations especially from, particularly from the contractors of ‘why they are unable to deliver.”
Flame Zambia chairman Mohammed Salama said the company would demonstrate good workmanship through the plant and would want to be engaged in more construction projects in Zambia.
Salama said the technical and financial support that the company would receive from Flame Arab Construction would help them reduce the cost of construction in Zambia.
“Through Flame Arab Constructors, we will be bringing down the cost of construction to more developments to happen suing the same resources at hand; thus creating more employment and more projects,” said Salama.
“We will achieve this by having our own quarry cement plant, which we think will help to reduce the cost of construction in Zambia.”
He said in the last four years that Flame Zambia has operated in the country, it has undertaken some substantial projects, including the construction of Finsbury building at the Kabwe roundabout and Radisson Hotel opposite Arcades shopping centre.
The company has trained 400 Zambians in various construction skills, and was contributing more to the sector.
And Flame Arab Constructors chairman Ibrahim Mahlab said the company, which achieved a turnover of US $2.5 billion and recorded a backlog of US $4.5 billion worth of project last year, wants top contribute to the development of infrastructure in Zambia.
Flame Arab Constructors would also be training 20 Zambians from the Arab Construction Institute in Egypt.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, FELIX MUTATI, FLAME ARAB CONSTRUCTORS
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Economist warns about African govts mismanaging CoST
By Mutale Kapekele
Tue 25 May 2010, 18:40 CAT
THE Construction Sector Transparency initiative (CoST) will not work as long as African governments remain champions for the project, a Malawian economist Khumbutso Banda has observed.
CoST is a World Bank and Britain’s Department for International Development (DFID) funded project aimed at improving transparency in the construction sector. The CoST project is being piloted in seven countries, including Zambia and Malawi up to October this year.
Ministers in charge of the construction sector have been selected to lead the initiative as champions and the Zambian chapter is led by works and supply minister Mike Mulongoti. According to Banda, African governments were not ready to uphold transparency and stamp out corruption in the construction sector.
“African governments tolerate and encourage corruption as active participants and there is no way people like that can be committed to the CoST let alone lead the project as champions,” Banda said.
“For this initiative to work, the civil society has to actively participate and make their governments accountable for all transactions in the construction sector, they have to make them publish what they pay for the works done. The question is do we have CSO Civil Society Organisations that can effectively do that?”
She said the construction sector played a vital role in supporting social and economic development and yet it was consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt areas of economic activity.
Banda said the costs of corruption in public-sector construction projects extended far beyond increasing contract prices and it required people of high integrity to curb the vice.
“Corruption can hinder a nation's social and economic development at grass-roots level by undermining the rule of law and hindering the growth of strong and accountable institutions, on which sustained economic growth depends,” said Banda.
“Corruption can result in unnecessary, unsuitable, defective or dangerous projects, which are often subject to severe delays.
That is why initiatives such as the CoST are required to help us fight corruption in the construction sector. But for the project to be successful, we need the right people to lead the initiative. As it is, our governments have not even shown us how they intend to sustain the project after October when the pilots end.”
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, CoST, DFID
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Mpulungu council to demolish poorly built structures
By Emmanuel Kapampa in Mpulungu
Wed 12 May 2010, 04:00 CAT
MPULUNGU district council will soon demolish all poorly built structures, council chairman George Tembo has said.
The council has since given businessmen whose structures are in a poor state 60 days to beautify and properly construct them according to acceptable standards, failure to which they would be pulled down.
In an interview, Tembo said the exercise was in line with the council’s quest for cleanliness and to enforce the ‘Keep Mpulungu Clean’ campaign.
He said restaurants and bar owners who were not adhering to health standards would also have their premises closed.
Tembo said he was extremely disappointed with the dilapidated state of some premises offering goods and services to residents in the township and blamed the proprietors for the negligent manner in which their places were run.
“In this demolition exercise, in which we have the full backing and support of residents, we shall start with five structures located to your left just as you enter the township. And these include shops, the police club, bars and those lodging shelters at the back of these filthy structures,’’ he said.
Tembo said the structures were making the township look dirty and untidy.
In the programme, Tembo stated that the council would work in collaboration with state police.
He said he was equally not happy with the way Ngwenya market (the trading centre for fish and Kapenta on the shores of Lake Tanganyika) was being run.
“There is a lot of dirt in that market, restaurants are operated in unsanitary conditions and as council we want to ensure that cleanliness is brought there even if it means closing the market altogether. Moreover, that is the place where cholera mainly originates from in this town,’’ he said.
He said Mpulungu district council was committed to raising the standards of cleanliness in the township.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, COUNCILS, MPULUNGU
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Ndalamei urges efficiency in contract management
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Wed 05 May 2010, 00:30 CAT
SECRETARY to the Treasury Likolo Ndalamei has observed that there is need to achieve efficiency in contract management of public works.
In a speech read for him by Ministry of Finance permanent secretary for Financial Management and Administration Berlin Msiska during the official opening of a training workshop on contracts management organised by Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) in Siavonga on Monday Ndalamei said the Authority under the new Act had the mandate to coordinate and promote capacity building and professional development in public procurement system.
Ndalamei said there was need to equip procurement staff with relevant knowledge and skills in managing contracts for works, goods and services.
“I am confident that by the end of this training, you will acquire the necessary knowledge and skill required to perform your work effectively and efficiently. Moreover, I expect that your knowledge will move us closer to achieving the objectives for which the public procurement Act was established.”
Earlier, ZPPA director general Samuel Chibuye said there was need to create capacity of procurement officers in government ministries and other spending agencies in line with the 2008 ZPPA Act.
Chibuye said giving capacity to procurement officers would help to bring efficiency in procurement in government ministries and other spending agencies.
Labels: BERLIN MSISKA, CONSTRUCTION, LIKOLO NDALAMEI, ZPPA
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Construction body ranks Zambia’s rates among highest in region
By Fridah Zinyama
Wed 21 Apr. 2010, 04:50 CAT
Stanbic Bank Zambia has embarked on the master piece construction of the the Bank's head quarters along Addisa baba road in Lusaka , The building will be completed in April next year, here contruction is under way-Picture by Collins Phiri
THE National Council for Construction (NCC) has said the cost of construction in Zambia is one of the highest in the region.
According to NCC executive director Dr Sylvester Mashamba, it has been realised that the construction industry
rates keep rising and compared to the region, Zambia has been the highest so far.
“It is understandable for rates to rise as certain costs such as fuel and other inputs that go into construction works rise, but the rise in the costs has been too drastic for the Zambian industry,” he said.
Dr Mashamba said the other factors that may cause the increase in unit rates could be attributed to the absence of the competition for jobs, in that there were few contractors who may carry out a particular job that has been put out to tender.
“In Zambia the rise in unit rates in the last three to four years could have been attributed to the following factors, increase in fuel costs, banning of 42 contractors, banning of advance payments and shortage of cement,” he said.
To this end, the council is undertaking a study on construction unit rates in the Zambian construction industry to empirically establish the key factors that go into the ever increasing construction unit costs in this country by comparing these with those within the region like Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania and South Africa.
Dr Mashamba said after the study, a model for construction unit rates analysis would be put in place to analyse such issues.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, INFLATION, NCC, STANBIC, SYLVESTER MASHAMBA
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Construction council boss urges transparency in sector
By Fridah Zinyama
Fri 26 Feb. 2010, 08:00 CAT
NATIONAL Council for Construction (NCC) executive director Sylvester Mashamba has said there is need for transparency in the construction industry if corruption is to be curbed.
During a media workshop on the importance of the construction sector transparency initiative (CoST) at NCC offices on Wednesday, Dr Mashamba said making information available to the public on projects which were being undertaken by the government would help to curb corrupt activities which the construction sector was known for.
The CoST is being sponsored by the Department for International Development (DFID) and the World Bank in order to fight corruption and its associated vices in the construction industry.
The aim of CoST is to enhance the accountability of procuring entities and construction companies for the cost and quality of public sector construction projects.
“There is perceived corruption in the construction industry which is costing the country large sums of money and measures need to be put in place to prevent such activities,” he said. “This is why, we are optimistic that the CoST Initiative which government with the help of stakeholders is implementating will help to reduce on such vices.”
Dr Mashamba said there had been public misunderstanding on government-funded projects because most of the times people felt that contractors were doing shoddy work.
“As NCC, we believe that once information is provided on government projects, the amounts and the type of work that should be undertaken, people will be in a better position to appreciate the work that contractors are doing on public works,” he said.
“A typical example that can be given is the Chipata-Lundazi road, government informed the public that the road would be worked on but did not indicate that it would only be mended.”
Dr Mashamba said when the public saw the contractor mending the road they were outraged and chased the contractor because they felt he was doing shoddy work.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, SYLVESTER MASHAMBA, TRANSPARANCY
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‘Road construction profit margins under pressure’
By Nchima Nchito Jr
Thu 12 Nov. 2009, 04:00 CAT
PROFIT margins in the road construction industry are under pressure, Raubex Construction has revealed. Raubex is a construction company with operations across Southern Africa.
According to engineering news, Raubex financial and commercial director Francois Diedrechsen attributed the lower profit margins in the construction industry to a sizeable increase in the number of companies vying for especially smaller contracts.
“This happens every few years. It is just history repeating itself. Usually, within a few years these companies are gone,” he said.
Recent tender results indicated that in order to secure new work locally, current operating margins in the company's Roadmac and Raubex Construction divisions would continue to be adjusted to account for the increased competition, particularly in the light road surfacing sector.
The company stated that in Zambia, conditions were more challenging due to exceptionally high rainfall impacting on the re-gravel contracts while Rehabilitation contracts with a high content of cement and bitumen were also affected negatively by supply issues. It further states that the strength of the South African rand against the Zambian kwacha resulted in increased input costs having a negative effect on operating margins.
Diedrechsen, however, said the company delivered a “satisfactory performance”, despite challenging conditions in the first half of the year.
“Our international expansion is progressing well following the successful establishment of our footprint in Namibia, and this has already led to further work being awarded to Raubex in that country. In addition, a number of new projects were secured locally following the interim period,” said Diedrechsen.
“We expect the performance of the second half of the year to improve, and remain confident that our strong financial and operational position will allow the group to maintain its performance in the medium term.”
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, RAUBEX CONTRACTORS, ROADS
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Construction industry records 9.9% growth
Written by Fridah Zinyama
Thursday, October 01, 2009 1:13:17 AM
THE construction industry has recorded a 9.9 per cent growth since the beginning of the year despite effects of the credit crunch on the local economy.
The 9.9 per cent growth rate recorded so far is over four per cent above the target of around five per cent as predicted by the National Council for Construction (NCC).
During a press briefing in Lusaka on Tuesday, NCC executive director Dr Sylvester Mashamba said the overall performance of the construction industry had been very good despite of the challenges that the country had been experiencing economically.
“Everything has been going well in the sector but for the period when Lafarge Zambia had temporally stop production,” he said. “At that time cement prices had escalated to around K95,000 but prices have since normalised with the commencement of production by the Lafarge Zambia.”
And Dr Mashamba said the delayed investigations of 21 construction companies blacklisted from carrying out construction works in the country had taken too long, saying this was affecting the construction sector.
He added that the quality of construction in the country had improved remarkably, with the private sector playing an important role in this development.
“The public sector on the other hand has lagged behind mainly due to delayed disbursement of funds,” he said.
Dr Mashamba hoped things would change with the implementation of the budget at the start of the year.
“The delay in disbursement of funds has made Zambia to be one of the countries with the poorest of infrastructure in the world, according to the World Economic Report on infrastructure,” said Dr Mashamba. “Zambia ranked 125th out of the 129 countries which had been surveyed.”
And NCC, in conjunction with Africast Exhibition Management, is this November expected to host the construction industry awards to recognise contractors, consultants and other notable individuals or firms that have contributed positively to the construction industry and to infrastructure development.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, SYLVESTER MASHAMBA
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Workers complain against abusive Chinese Contractor
Monday, August 17, 2009, 15:32
Itezhi-tezhi High School construction workers yesterday staged a protest at the District Commissioner’s office over alleged beatings and other bad conditions which a Chinese company has subjected them to.
More than twenty construction workers marched ,amid grumbling ,to the District Commissioner’s home. They were advised to go to the office where the Acting DC Hampende Hichilema would address them after ten minutes.
Ndonji Crispin who spoke on behalf of the construction workers complained about the ill-treatment by supervisors at Hua Tiang, a Chinese company which has been awarded the contract to finish phase two of Itezhi-tezhi High school.
“The Chinese supervising us at the construction site are beating us with sticks and making us work through out the week without resting, we report at 07:00 and knock off around 18:00 hours” he said.
He said that when workers complain of being overworked, they are insulted and told to leave their jobs because they claim that they can bring people from China to do the same job.
“We are working like slaves or foreigners in our own country, we do not have protective shoes, and they bought us canvass shoes instead of boots which were recommended by the inspectors”, he said.
Mr. Ndonji said that when the company gives them protective clothing such as overalls, their NRCs are grabbed from them, a situation which makes it difficult for them to access services such as getting money from banks or the post office.
He said that the Chinese contractors do not recognize sick leave and do not care whether someone falls sick during the course of their duty.
“When a worker falls sick, they just say go to the hospital, they do not help with anything and more over they deduct pay from the days you will be sick” he said.
He further said that the workers have been subjected to extremely low wages of K7, 000 per day adding that they are subjected to inhumane and demeaning treatment. He complained that the workers are made to heap 100 wheelbarrows of crushed stone every day.
Meanwhile Acting Itezhi-tezhi District Commissioner Hampende Hichilema has assured the construction workers that his office would engage the Chinese company on the matters they had raised.
He said that his office would call the management on Tuesday to discuss the alleged beatings and inhumane conditions under which the workers are reported to be working at the High School.
ZANIS
Labels: CHINESE, CONSTRUCTION, CONTRACTORS, HAMPENDE HICHILEMA, LABOUR
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Murray and Roberts look to Zimbabwe
by MacDonald Dzirutwe
30/06/2009 00:00:00
THE Zimbabwean division of South Africa's top construction and engineering company Murray and Roberts's said it saw the mining sector as a key area for growth.
Zimbabwe has huge mineral deposits, including the second largest platinum reserves after South Africa. The world's two largest producers Anglo Platinum and Implats both operate there.
Gold mines are restarting production after shutting down last year while Implats will launch its $340 million mine expansion this year and Angloplat is forging ahead with a planned 150,000-ounce a year platinum projects.
"We have taken a position that this (mining) is a key growth market area for us," Canada Maunga, M&R Zimbabwe chief executive told an investor conference in Harare.
"China is definitely here, they are very competitive and we believe the South Africans are coming in strongly as well."
M&R Zimbabwe, in which M&R has a 48 percent shareholding, is the country's largest construction group, focusing on civil engineering, steelworks and manufacturing industrial pipes.
The company said it would spend $15 million on capital expenditure in the next three years and recently completed a platinum concentrator at Implats' Ngezi mine in Zimbabwe and built the new British embassy in Harare.
Zimbabwe needs $10 billion in foreign funding to revive its damaged economy, with $2 billion required to revamp decaying infrastructure.
But it should introduce reforms to its tax system, reduce corruption and remove the red tape to attract investors.
"The investment opportunities are fantastic and growth potential phenomenal," Steve Hanke, from the John Hopkins University in United States, who wrote a book on Zimbabwe's hyperinflation last year, told the conference via video link. "The good news is that these reforms can be done quickly."
He said another major concern among investors was whether Zimbabwe could quickly restore the rule of law after an often violent seizure of white-owned commercial farms in 2000 and a nationalisation law targeting foreign firms enacted last year.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, SOUTH AFRICA
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Need for major construction drive
FAR too few houses for lower income families have been built in the last decade, despite the best efforts of the Government and housing co-operatives. The result is that far too many people, especially in urban areas, are living in expensive rented rooms, or are overcrowded, or are in sub-standard accommodation.
Upper-income and middle-income families are usually served by private developers. And it looks as if in the last decade these developers managed to keep the market supplied despite the collapse of the mortgage market.
Generally all that both these groups need is the return of building societies to their core function of mobilising savings for housing. But poorer families need special help.
As we report elsewhere in this issue, co-operatives have been a major engine of mobilising savings and can obviously do more, especially if there is some help from donors and others.
But their effect will still be limited unless we look at a major construction drive in Zimbabwe, a drive that will consider all aspects of home-building from finance to materials and design.
We believe that housing can be one of the engines for growth as Zimbabwe rebuilds its economy.
Not only does the country need the homes, but the economic benefits of a major construction drive can be immense.
Construction itself, and the manufacture of many of the materials for buildings, are notoriously labour-intensive industries.
In fact, almost the entire cost of an average house is made up of labour charges since the basic raw materials — clay, trees, water, and assorted rock — are not very expensive.
So a major construction drive can put a lot of people into employment and their taxes and spending will benefit a lot of other industries.
But capital shortage is still a problem, and the final cost of houses built with machine-made bricks and large amounts of cement might well be beyond the pocket of many families, even if cheap loans were available.
This is why we and many others are so keen on seeing proper research into alternative construction techniques.
Adobe walls, when properly laid, last for centuries in climates like Zimbabwe’s, especially if they are stabilised with lime or cement.
Many sneer at hand-made "farm" bricks, yet there are many buildings over a century old in central Harare built of such bricks, including the core of the Parliament building itself.
We feel the quality problems some experience can easily be overcome by dissemination of better information.
Most houses in the United States and over vast areas of Australia are built of wood.
Very little research seems to have been done in Zimbabwe to see if local plantation softwoods are suitable and what sort of treatment is required to make them impervious to pests.
Again some of the early colonial houses in central Harare now more than 100 years old seem to incorporate a lot more wood in their construction than later houses.
Those houses were often built by families with limited funds and little access to expensive or high-tech materials.
Some quite extraordinary houses are now being designed and built in developed countries as architects and engineers seek maximum energy efficiencies.
The most interesting aspect of many of these designs is the amount of natural material included and the use of many of the alternative building techniques often pioneered in the developing world.
There is clearly nothing second-rate about such materials and techniques and nothing sacrosanct about the brick-under-tile bungalows of mid-20th century suburban England. Building second-class copies of second-class designs does not seem the best way forward.
We believe that Zimbabweans can be decently housed at an affordable cost. But it will require leadership, imagination and organisation for that to happen.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION
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Stanbic Bank to provide building loans
Written by Nchima Nchito Jr
Thursday, April 30, 2009 2:49:36 PM
STANBIC Bank managing director Joseph Chikolwa has said his bank
has decided to provide building loans in an effort to counter the challenges being faced in the provision of housing countrywide.
In a speech read for him by Stanbic Bank head of personal and business banking, Nelus Agenbach during the launch of the building loans in Lusaka on Tuesday, Chikolwa said the private-sector needed to take a centre-stage role in providing workable solutions to mitigate the current shortages of housing in the country.
“Over the past several years, the effect of the dramatic changes in the Zambian socio-political landscape, from a commandist economy where social amenities such as staff housing were provided by the government and parastatals, to one that is private-sector driven, has unfortunately resulted in a shortage of housing stock,” said Chikolwa. “I am pleased to report that we at Stanbic have been keenly been following these trends in the housing market and it is now apparent that the private-sector needs to take a more centre-stage role in providing workable solutions to mitigate against this emerging scenario. It is for this reason that we have now gone the route of providing building loans, albeit in a very controlled fashion for the time being.”
And Lusaka town clerk Timothy Hakuyu said the council was committed to ensuring that it supplies services and amenities required to make housing projects by the private sector a success.
Hakuyu said he was happy that the new product was being piloted in Lusaka because the city had a population growth rate that was twice the national average.
Stanbic Bank has launched the building loans programme where clients could obtain a loan from the bank to purchase housing units from the Tafika Housing Project.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, STANBIC
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Government asks Japan to help develop City of Lusaka
Thursday, April 16, 2009, 15:26
Government has asked the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to help implement the Lusaka city master plan, which is aimed at urban development for the greater city of Lusaka under the vision 2030.
Lusaka City Council Director of Engineering Services, Bonwell Lwanga disclosed this during a press briefing in Lusaka today saying the local authority was now waiting for response from JICA.
Mr. Lwanga said under the master plan, the council will embark on water and sanitation, public transport and infrastructure and improved environment projects.
He said the three projects were part of the urban development for the greater city of Lusaka, which would among other things reduce traffic, decongest the city and developing other less developed areas within the city.
Mr. Lwanga said the projects will also include developing the surrounding districts of Lusaka such as Chibombo, Kafue, and Chongwe.
He said US$ 45 million will be required for the first phase of the project that will involve the construction of inner ring roads in Lusaka.
The Lusaka City Council (LCC) says the environmental assessment of the Lusaka master plan might start in June this year and the implementation will start immediately the assessment is completed.
ZANIS/GP/KSH/ENDS
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, JAPAN, LCC, TOWN PLANNING
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NCC urges formalisation of construction industry
Written by Florence Bupe
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 9:37:32 AM
THE National Council for Construction (NCC) has advised the government to institute policies that will formalise the country’s informal construction industry in order to derive higher economic contributions from the sector.
During a briefing last Friday, NCC executive director Dr Sylvester Mashamba said the informal construction industry could be made to contribute more meaningfully to the growth of the national economy through tax submission.
“Unless the Zambian government takes steps to formalise the highly informal construction industry, the much talked about multiplier effects, forward and backward linkages will not be achieved,” Dr Mashamba said. “The informal economy, and more so the informal construction which is now bigger than the formal sector, should be made to contribute to the national economy.”
Dr Mashamba said the government should also ensure that the provisions in both the NCC and the Citizens Economic Empowerment Acts were upheld in order to promote the local and citizen construction companies.
Dr Mashamba also expressed optimism that the decision by the government to lower international gateway fees would ultimately reduce the cost of doing business in the country, thereby making the economy more competitive.
“Government’s decision to remove customs duty on a number of specified construction equipment is another welcome development in this year’s budget to the industry, although its immediate impact is unlikely,” Dr Mashamba said. “The ban of advance payments to contractors, high bank rates, and the sharp depreciation and increased volatility of the kwacha against major currencies will certainly mean that very few local contractors will be able to take advantage of this budget provision and buy new construction equipment in this socio- economic environment.”
Dr Mashamba, however, said the financial allocation for infrastructure development would most likely positively result in increased job creation and retention.
“It is the responsibility of any government, especially during the period of an economic recession, to ensure job retention and job creation, and given the huge financial allocations for infrastructure development in this year’s budget, we in the industry will equally be expecting huge job creation opportunities in the industry,” said Dr Mashamba.
Government has allocated K120.1 billion towards infrastructure development in the country.
And Dr Mashamba listed 20 companies out of the 42 companies that were blacklisted for flouting industry regulations as having been cleared.
The cleared companies include Bleach Enterprises, China Henan Corporation, Sable Transport and Construction Limited, Shachitari Contractors, TL & P Enterprises and Vibrant Construction.
Others are Zako Zako Contractors, J.J Lowe, Greenhouse Transport, Jansi African,, Supreme Construction, Chibaris Freight, Plough Africa and China Geo Engineering Corporation.
Frachmub Construction, Portmore Construction, Abigail Sales Agency, Edmas General Dealers, Ropsa General Dealers and Faud G Sykes have also been cleared.
Labels: CONSTRUCTION, NCC
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