Engineers want law against foreign competition

Nov 02, 2014

LOCAL consultancy and construction engineering firms have expressed dissatisfaction at Government''s inability to enact legislation protecting them from the hydra of foreign competition

By John Agaba 

 

LOCAL consultancy and construction engineering firms have expressed dissatisfaction at Government's inability to enact legislation protecting them from the hydra of foreign competition. 

 

Eng. Samuel Ssentongo, the managing director of M&E Associates, said Government's reluctance to enact the law has left the local firms crippling while foreign firms continue to enjoy the lion's share in the business. 

 

"What we want is Government to pass a protective law, for instance, stating that a consultancy of $100, 000 and below be strictly reserved for local firms. If it is above $100, 000, then locals are guaranteed a percentage, let us say 30%," Ssentongo said at an Engineers dinner organized by their professional association UIPE at Hotel Africana over the weekend.  

 

He said the lack of a protective law was limiting the growth of local engineering firms "because everyone seems to trust foreign firms over local ones. And we are losing out." 

 

"We have foreign and Government of Uganda funded jobs. But, for foreign funded jobs, the funders insist on using foreign companies to handle their consultancy and, at times, they bring their own contractors. Now, this does not favor the growth of local firms." 

 

Eng. Abel Katahoire, the chairman and managing director of Multi-Konsults, said it is a role of government to protect and provide a favorable environment for her local companies. 

 

"But, we are letting foreign companies flourish at the detriment of local companies. We need to have faith in our engineers, and also give them the big projects," said Katahoire, whose Multi-Konsults company was behind the scenes in the planning of the Entebbe State House.

 

"We have pushed for the enactment and implementation of a Local Content Act, but yielded no results so far," he said. 

 

The meeting, largely discussing ways local engineers can build sustainable home grown and visionary engineering companies, also centered on what engineers can do and can't do to achieve the vision. 

 

Geoffrey Habasa, the director of Pearl Engineering, asked the younger engineers in the house to put quality before anything.   

 

"Clients look at who can do the job. Are you the best contractor? You need to build your credibility. And emphasize quality, not shoddy work," he said. 

 

"One of the biggest challenges for our engineers today is the desire to complete assignment after assignment. You rush to complete a job because you want an extra buck in your pocket. But you are compromising quality. Do not take on work you cannot quality-wise perfect," he said. 

 

Eng. Isaac Mutenyo, the UIPE president said: "Quality is the alpha and omega in sustaining a good and reputable engineering company. You have to do quality work to satisfy the client."

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});