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January 07 2010
I am pleased to quote from a letter sent to both The National Association for Medium and Small Scale Contractors and our Assosiation from National Council for Construction.
Quote:
RE: Dissolution of Provincial Registration Committees.
Further to our correspondence of August 11 2009, we write to advise that the decision to dissolve the PRC's has been rescinded.
You are kindly requested to ignore any earlier communications advising the contrary
We recognise your key role in the registration process and look forward to a continued relationship.
Any convenience caused is deeply regretted.
Yours for national development,
Mashamba SM (Dr)
Executive Director
End of quote.
From the above it is imperqative that we continue to have timely meaningful dialogue with the NCC. If you have comments or observations regarding the registration process please send them to me IN WRITING as soon as you are able so that we may take these matters up with NCC at the appropriate juncture. Any anonymous submissions that are made may not be taken up but those wishing their names not to be disclosed will be accpeted and honoured.
09 October 2009
PRESS RELEASE
The Association of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors (ABCEC) has been given the remit of its members to act in the interests of its members and to preserve the independence of the Private sector in the Construction Industry.
The Adverts in various National Newspapers concerning Registration of Contractors for 2010 have been placed by the National Council for Construction (NCC) without due consideration of all its’ stakeholders. Contractors are urged to continue submitting their renewals, new application and upgrade forms together with payments to ABCEC. We question the new system of internal scrutiny by NCC because of their lack of capacity or understanding to deal with all this work. If the NCC has capacity to deal with this scrutiny work, then we, as a significant contributor to their budget (approximately ZMK2bn towards the statutory subscription this calendar year), challenge them to take the service to the door-step of Contractors in all provinces as opposed to making Contractors travel or otherwise posting applications.
Since 2003, ABCEC has been responsible for the scrutiny and approval of Building, Civil Engineering, Electrical, Mining and Roads Contractors before submitting their details for Certification to NCC. The Contractors pay NCC fees based on individual contractors, grades and categories unlike the Zambia Institute of Architects (ZIA), Engineering Institution of Zambia (EIZ) and the Surveyor Institute of Zambia (SIZ) who pay affiliate fees as institutions. We therefore call on Government to repeal the part of the Act that allows NCC to collect monies from individual contractors. These subscriptions should be regulated in the same way as that of affiliate bodies.
The NCC has now removed this partnership and decided unilaterally to scrutinize and certify contractors as their domain. It is a backward and unsustainable move that will cast shadows over transparency and good governance. It is a move that undermines the Government’s policy towards Public, Private Partnership. This issue now highlights other problems that are becoming more apparent as the management of NCC takes it upon themselves to change the original intention of the National Council for Construction by misusing and misinterpreting clauses in the 2003 Act and subsequent Statutory Instruments. Our Humble advice to NCC is to reinstate the system that has worked reasonably well and work towards building capacity for the various Committees in every province to be able to scrutinize effectively.
The NCC have also delved into direct contact with individual contractors in other areas of the Industry which instead of building capacity have reinvented and removed jobs from other ministries by doing their work. The Factories Act for example clearly states how the law sees health and safety on sites and the standards that contractors must abide. Instead of building capacity in the Ministry of Labour, the NCC is now the Factory Inspectorate on building sites.
It is also our observation that NCC is trying to control and regulate many areas of contracting that are already covered by statutes. This means that they must have a major presence at every turn of contracting. In a recent press statement they have bemoaned their budgetary cuts and cited these same reasons in a plea for more funding. All aspects of contract management have long been the responsibility Project Teams and Consultants of the Industry appointed and led by the client.
We urge Government to streamline the operations of NCC in their status as the overall regulator whose sole task should be to ensure that Contractors’ Associations, Professionals and Clients ALL perform their relevant duties in accordance with the law and for the benefit of the whole country. We urge Government to rebuild the statutes that already exist to ensure all stakeholders conduct their business in a healthy, safe and conducive environment. It is an important role that is mirrored in all countries regionally and abroad.
Further and in light of the present circumstances, the Governments desire to cut the cost of doing business; we suggest that certificates should be validated for Twenty Four Calendar months from date of issue. This will drastically reduce the paperwork and time spent ensuring conformity with the law.
Without the co operation and confidence of ABCEC and other stakeholders at this rate, NCC will be doomed to fail.
PHESTO MUSONDA
ABCEC PRESIDENT |
