An MP hired a contractor to build his house. When it was half-way done, the contractor abandoned the site without notice. The house collapsed within days.
The MP narrated his ordeal with the “rogue” contractor to his colleagues in Parliament last June during debate on the National Construction Authority Bill.
The MP sounded helpless. But not anymore. Today, the legislator, together with many other builders and private developers, must be a happy lot for the Bill, aimed at bringing order in the construction industry by ensuring that only genuine and qualified contractors practise, is now law and is expected to come into operation soon.
The government, which for decades, has been fleeced by wheeler-dealer contractors, variously referred to “rogue contractors”, “cowboy contractors”, and “briefcase contractors”, is even happier.
“We are happy that the National Construction Authority Bill is now law. It is now possible to rid the construction industry of rogue contractors since the new law provides for the blacklisting of those who abandon work half-way or who do not conduct themselves professionally,” said Public Works minister Chris Obure.
The National Construction Authority Act, signed into law by President Kibaki recently, seeks to regulate the building and construction industry by setting up the National Construction Authority, an agency to oversee the sector.
The authority will be charged with registering and accrediting contractors and regulating their activities.
It will also promote professionalism in the sector by ensuring that only trained contractors, construction workers, and site supervisors are registered.
“The new law has given us the teeth to deal with contractors who abandon (government) projects half-way. We will have the option of deregistering them, barring them from working for any government department or the private sector,” said Mr Obure.
He said lack of centralised registration of contractors (the registration of contractors has been fragmented, with each government agency maintaining its own register on administrative basis) has created a situation where non-performing contractors and those barred in one ministry or institution can migrate and actively tender for projects in other ministries and institutions on account of multiple registrations or change of legal status.
According to industry players, lack of a centralised regulation and registration mechanism for contractors has led to the proliferation of non-performing contractors with little or no capacity to undertake works.
The activities of the non-performing contractors have resulted in collapsing buildings due to poor workmanship and non-compliance with specifications, often occasioning loss of life, poorly constructed infrastructure, and delayed completion of works, leading to project cost over-runs and stalled projects.
“I think this new law will help tame rogue contractors and improve the quality of construction work because the contractors now know that if they are deregistered, they will not be able to get work elsewhere,” said Mr Alfred Aluvaala, the director of Miradi Consultants, a quantity surveying firm that also deals with project management.
He said the law has stringent requirements that will ensure that only certain cadres of contractors with a given level of education are allowed to practise.
“At the moment, anybody can register a firm and claim to be a contractor. But under the new law, they will have to be registered by the authority, checked, and their activities followed up to ensure that they follow laid-down procedure. This law will help sieve the profession and leave only those who are serious,” said Mr Aluvaala.
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