Construction council remains thorny issue

Jo-Maré Duddy



Tempers flared at the first Annual Construction Conference ­yesterday when government ­representatives couldn't give the assurance that the long-awaited and promised construction council will be established by the end of March next year.

The council is vital to help revive the construction sector, which has been in recession for more than three years. It will ensure that the industry is better regulated and it will address the unequal playing field that currently exists in the sector.

The establishment of a National Construction Council (NCC), which has been on government's agenda since 2010, was one of the recommendations of the High-Level Panel on the Namibian Economy following the recent Namibia Economic Growth Summit and has subsequently become a cabinet directive. Government committed to implement it before the end of the 2019/20 fiscal year.

However, a packed conference hall was left none the wiser yesterday when the deputy director of engineering services in the department works at the ministry of works and transport, Emanuel Mwangosi, said “if there was such a promise by the ministry, I'm not so sure”.



'Surprised'

Mwangosi spoke on behalf of the deputy minister of works and transport, Sankwasa James Sankwasa, who was supposed to talk about the construction council. Although he committed to delivering the speech, he didn't show up.

Mwangosi said the plan for the council dates as far back as 2010, but why it hasn't been taken to parliament, “is a surprise”.

The Planning and Construction Bill was discussed in the National Assembly in 2010 already.

Among others, it makes provision for the establishment of a Namibian Planning and Construction Council (NPCC) where construction companies and contractors will be expected to register. Such companies and individuals will need to have certain required qualifications and a minimum threshold amount of money in the bank to become registered with the council.

Mwangosi admitted that council is “long overdue” and that it should been enacted “long ago”. According to him, the bill was discussed and handed to Sankwasa, who requested a preamble. But he doesn't know when Sankwasa intends to take it to parliament.

'Unlikely'

The chief of legal advice in the Office of the Attorney-General, Chris Nghaamwa, was equally in the dark.

He doesn't know under what circumstances the promise was made to have the council up and running by March next year, but given the time left, he doesn't think it will be possible, Nghaamwa said.

The manager of public sector capacitation at the Construction Industry Development Board (CIBD) in South Africa and a guest speaker at the conference, Richard Raphiri, told attendants to take the issue to members of parliament (MPs).

“If we don't get involved in politics, we tend to lose out,” Raphiri said.

The consulting general manager of the Construction Industries Federation (CIF), Bärbel Kirchner, responded and said the federation in 2016 anticipated the demise of the sector and therefore wrote a personalised letter to every MP, asking them to focus on the industry.

A week after the tabling of the national budget in March 2016, prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila also committed to the establishment of a construction council, Kirchner said.

Following a heated question-and-answer session, master of ceremonies Ricardo Goagoseb berated Mwangosi and Nghaamwa, saying they could at least have “picked up a phone” to inform themselves about the progress with the council.

“This is completely unacceptable,” Goagoseb said under loud applause. “We need to start taking each other seriously, otherwise we are wasting each other's time,” he said.



'Pleading'

“We have been pleading for the establishment of a council for years and are really looking forward to when we finally have a more regulated environment in our industry. It would be in the interest of everyone – obviously our contractors, but without any doubt, also financiers as well as clients, especially our government,” Kirchner said recently.

According to Kirchner, a draft bill for the establishment of a NCC was reviewed at a stakeholder workshop in2018. The CIF has been calling for the establishment of a NCC since 2006.

“The effect of such an unregulated environment is that legitimate local contractors with adequate capacity are increasingly pushed aside; and that ongoing local capacity building, continued employment and the provision of decent work is undermined,” she said.

A NCC would require that any contractor operating in Namibia be registered with the council. Depending on the criteria determined by the NCC, contractors would then be categorised. This would ensure that only those that indeed are actively operating in the industry would be registered, Kirchner said.

“In addition, it would ensure that capacity would be aligned with size of projects. The training and ­development of contractors will also ensure that capacity of respective contractors will increase over time,” she added.

– [email protected]