Stakeholders in the construction industry are pushing for the consideration of the Contractors Bill which has been in the formative stages for more than a decade.
The contractors bill has been gathering dust in the Local Government, Public Works and National Housing ministry for 15 years leaving local contractors exposed to unfair competition by foreign contractors from the region.
This came to light at the Zimbabwe Construction Industry Association annual general meeting in Harare to map the way forward regarding the obtaining operating environment.
Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association President, Engineer Francis Mangwendeza, said there are a lot of factors which are affecting the growth of the sector chief among them being the unavailability of proper legislation.
“We have been pushing for the contractors Bill for 15 years and its lying in the ministry of local government, this bill would help regulate the industry but at the moment it’s free for all,” Engineer Mangwendeza said.
The industry boasts of excellent skills in all areas to execute any work at hand but the legislation side has seen companies within the region taking over major contracts.
“Foreign firms have taken advantage of this loophole and they are the most beneficiaries at the same time they come with their labour. This makes the legislation issue a priority,” he added.
Like any industry, the currency reform being undertaken by government has recorded casualties in the construction industry as contracts agreed years ago are yet to be paid and when they are paid, it would have lost value.
“We are concerned with economic developments, we carried out infrastructure projects whilst the country was using US dollar but they are being paid now in ZWL, this has left a number of companies bankrupt,” said Eng Mangwendeza.
The Zimbabwe Construction Industry Association President, Engineer Bernard Musarurwa said the contractors bill will protect local contractors from unfair competition from companies based in South Africa, China and elsewhere.
“As local contractors we have capacity and skills to carry out any project in the country, but the issue of unfair competition must be addressed forthwith,” he said.
Government has failed to allocate resources for infrastructure projects in recent years which has seen a lot of structures deteriorating.
“Until we start investing in infrastructure development, the country will lag behind in a number of areas, government can use infrastructure bond, public private partnerships to invest in infrastructure development,” he noted.
The construction industry had a boost recently following the desire by government to see the rehabilitation and widening of Beitbridge-Harare-Chirundu highway.
The issue of power generation also took centre stage with experts indicating that in the next 11 years, the country must have added 1400mw of electricity to the national grid.
