Stephen Kyagulany, who built his house 55 years ago says it is strong because he used mud and clay, which were among the first building materials used in the past.

“The adhesive quality of clay made it easy to work with and form into different shapes. Logs, sticks, thatch, and wood were also used for early construction purposes.

In the past, some people used dung and mud to build strong houses. These days, however, people just think of making profits without thinking of the client,” he narrates.

 Abdu-Wahab Nyanzi, an architect, says the competition in the market and little knowledge in the sector is causing poor planning in the construction industry.

For example, the poor mixing of building materials, like cement and aggregate can cause cracks in the walls, beams and slabs which may lead to the collapse of buildings.

He says, with high prices of building materials, builders are faced with a dilemma of procuring quality materials and end up using what is available to them. This partly explains the collapse of buildings in many parts of the country.

The critical issues pertaining to building materials in Uganda are a result of unfavourable economic factors and also partly due to the overall shortage of tools, equipment and skilled manpower.

Nyanzi says some traditional materials like grass and some techniques are not permitted in urban areas, which gives room to too much dependence on imported building materials.

According to Nyanzi, there are also a few consultants in the construction sector and as such, there is limited knowledge on the durability of materials used. He notes that people buy materials on impulse or due to the bandwagon effect.

Peter Musomba, the head of sales from Hardware World says counterfeit products which are of poor quality are affecting the construction sector. He notes that these are as a result of competition from players such as small traders who get supplies from the black market.

Musomba says Uganda imports construction materials from a wide range of countries which are categorised from one to three (genuine and duplicates products). This, he says, makes genuine producers struggle to protect their brands.

Musomba explains that most of these counterfeit products are sold to ignorant consumers, which in turn affects the quality of buildings in the country.

“It is unfortunate that poor quality products are sold to customers who lack knowledge of the products,” Musomba says.  

Adding that as a result, customers do not get value for their money. He further adds that they do not have experts to organise seminars and training for hardware dealers. And as such, some suppliers accept anything imported without scrutinising the quality.

UNBS speaks out

According to the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) annual performance report for FY2018/19, it is indicated that UNBS carried out market surveillance as a quality assurance measure to ensure that goods sold on the local market meet the requirements of the standards.

The report further indicates that 6,646 inspections were undertaken against the annual target of 5000 inspections to unlock the challenge of quality and standards.

“Four hundred and thirteen tonnes of substandard items worth sh66.4b were seized from supermarkets, retail shops, distribution outlets, manufacturing premises, hardware shops and Internal Container Depots (ICDs) and distribution trucks,” Ben Manyindo, UNBS Executive director said.

He said over the years, UNBS has consistently received complaints from the market regarding the quality of locally-manufactured and imported steel products especially steel bars, iron sheets, cement, paint and electrical wires.

 “Our market surveillance services indicate that most products do not conform to relevant regulations with respect to health, safety and environmental requirements,” he noted.

He added that UNBS’s focused efforts will continue with deepening the decentralisation of services countrywide.

This, he says, is being done through increased engagement and collaboration with the local government and partners to reduce substandard goods on the market while empowering Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) to export to regional and international markets.

He called upon the Government to increase support for their activities so as to contribute more effectively to national socio-economic development of the country through implementing quality and standards everywhere.