Dr. Laila Macharia, chairperson, Kenya Private Developers Association (KPDA) said capital is one of the major challenges facing Africa small and medium enterprises in civil and construction sector during a COMESA conference that brought together stakeholders from across the world for partnership, among other things.
Macharia said complacence is biting African construction entrepreneurs as they settle for what they have attained. She said capacity of most of the SMEs in the sector is limited but corruption is holding the sector at ransom coupled with a culture where innovation and merit is not honored and promoted.
Moses Muiha, National Coordinator/CEO, Kenyan Federation of Mastered Builders says categorization of contractors by the ministry of roads and public works is unfair - in the awarding of construction projects tenders. Muiha complained of the manner in which the tender bids are under priced, evaluated and the technical qualification required in the process.
He said corruption and unfair distribution of construction projects is common while procurement process need to be reviewed as it causes unnecessary delay of payments. He added erratic change of prices of building materials are some of the challenges facing this Kenyan sector.
But, Prof John K. Lonyangapuo, permanent secretary, Ministry of Public Works said during the contractors meeting this year with the ministry that no contractor will be awarded more than four construction projects at any given time.
Lunyangapuo said during the meeting the sector need to match out of the past where tax payer funds ended into the drain as several housing projects across the country turned out to be white elephants. He warned contractors to embrace a new mind of partnering with government to build the much needed infrastructure.
On categorization of contractors the ministry says experience, meeting set time frame, quality of work done, technical and financial capacity is considered among other factors.
Their counterpart from the rest of Africa said that they are sharing the same challenges in their home countries. Muiha encourages Kenyan contractors to register with the association to enable them have a common voice to overcome the challenges they are facing.
“The ground is shifting beneath us,” says one of the younger contractors, “for us to get out of the pit that we have been for years – we are called to change our approaches. Late us embrace negotiation over activism.”
The forum afforded African contractors and engineers an opportunity to partner with their colleagues from the rest of the world.
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