Engineers want Parliament to pass construction Bill

Apr 26, 2017

The call was made during a meeting with the private sector and contractors at Makinnon suites in Kampala on Tuesday.

Parliament has been tasked to expedite the enactment of Uganda Construction Industry Commission (UCICO) Bill intended to rid the construction industry of crooks.

The call was made during a meeting with the private sector and contractors at Makinnon suites in Kampala on Tuesday.

According to Eng. Patrick Etoko from the ministry of  works and transport, the Bill will create opportunities to support local contractors and create public confidence in government and the process.

"The Bill is already before Parliament. It is only Uganda that has no Construction Industry Commission. We seriously need a body that will regulate the construction industry in the country," Etoko emphasised.

He decried shoddy works in the construction industry, attributing it to inadequate funding in research for materials.

"Contractors usually want to bypass the stages of testing materials. They want to save money, although not doing it in a right way. Even manufacturers will always want their test results positive even if they failed the test."

The Chairperson Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST) Uganda Multi Stakeholders Group (MSG) Nathan Byanyima encouraged UNRA and the ministry of works to emulate Ethiopia,which has stringent laws in the construction industry, and has enabled it save millions of dollars.

"Ethiopia is as poor as Uganda but they are doing a great job in the construction industry. Why don't we copy and paste the same so that we cut down the costs and have value for money in the construction industry?" he wondered.

Byanyima challenged  KCCA, UNRA and ministry of works to engage the public and publicise the contractor, costs, duration, and engineers, among others working who have won the contracts of specify roads for transparency.

 

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