Nakalema advocates for automation system in construction sector

MBARARA - The head of the State House Investors Protection Unit (SHIPU), Col. Edith Nakalema, has tasked the National Building Review Board (NBRB) with making Uganda a global investment hub and striving towards providing a conducive investment climate.

Col. Nakalema charged them to serve with integrity, flexibility and vigilance to empower investors. “We should collectively simplify processes and create a transparent, corruption-free investment landscape,” Col.Nakalema stated.

Nakalema also tasked the board with making good use of their building industry management system (BIMS) to overcome unnecessary bureaucracy and eliminate wrong elements from the construction sector. 

“Through automation, we shall be able to speed up the approval process and improve revenue,” Nakalema stated. Adding that this will ensure effective service delivery. She said that BIMS will help them to move together by swiftly driving building control activities.

The SHIPU boss made the remarks on Friday while presiding at the closure of a 3-day Annual National Building Review Board workshop on building control in Uganda. The workshop held at Lake View Hotel in Mbarara City brought together building control officers and physical planners from across the country.

Nakalema assured building control officers and physical planners of SHIPU’s strategic partnership to ensure a conducive environment for investors in the construction sector. 

As key players, she tasked them to promote efficiency and transparency in the sector.

“There is good hope of working together for the good of our economic and general development of our country. H.E. the President has always emphasised that public service delivery is done well through effective collaboration,” Nakalama emphasised.

She highlighted six areas of concern she asked physical planners and building control officers to address, which include: delayed project completion, unfair procurement practices, payment disputes, poor workmanship, unprofessional conduct, and environmental and safety negligence.

Nakalema assured building control officers and physical planners of SHIPU’s strategic partnership to ensure a conducive environment for investors in the construction sector. (Credit: Abdulkarim Ssengendo)

She said the issues she termed as recurring complaints are always received by her office regarding builders, suppliers and contractors and noted that the concerns have emerged consistently across their engagements, sector dialogues and member consultations.

Nakalema said the raised challenges stem from weak regulation of the sector, particularly the absence of a law to coordinate and promote the development of the construction industry.

Commenting on the issue of delays in building approvals, Eng. Gutto Bwire, NBRB executive secretary, said they now have an automation system that expedites the process, adding that if anybody is dissatisfied, they are not left alone. 

Bwire assured Nakalema that NBRB works hand in hand with investors to ensure they are not frustrated when it comes to building control activities. “Our interest is to ensure that our people do their job to improve the quality of infrastructure in our country,” Bwire added.

During the workshop, the delegates scrutinised several issues and came up with a number of resolutions. 

Presenting the resolutions, Denis Sekitoleko, NBRB National coordinator, said they resolved to:

• work with physical planners in sensitizing the communities on building control activities. 

• Work with the National Building Review Board to smoothen works related to building control activities.

• Improvise to achieve the desired goals of having building control activities monitored among others.

Simon Mwijuka, the chairman of Mbarara City Traders Association, represented private sector engineers and sensitised the citizens on the importance of putting up planned structures. 

He also called for the need to address the challenge of laxity among the Building Control Officers and Physical Planners in approving and supervising construction sites. 

Mwijuka attributed this to the increasing problems of poor infrastructure in the country.