• Zambian contractors have improved in the way they execute their projects.
• However, the level of participation is still too low.
• The industry is dominated by foreign contractors as it was even in the past.
Zambia Association of Citizen Contractors (ZACCO) says local participation in the construction industry is still low as foreign contractors have continued dominating the sector.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Association General Secretary Danny Simumba said Zambian contractors are not given a chance to take up large value construction projects.
Mr. Simumba however noted that local contractors have performed well in terms of low value contracts such as routine maintenance in the road sub-sector.
“Generally, the Zambian contractors have improved in the way they execute their projects that is in terms of quality. However, the level of participation is still too low because the industry is dominated by foreign contractors as it was even in the past.”
“There’s little presence of Zambian contractors in the industry in terms of uptake of large value construction projects. In terms of low value contracts like routine maintenance in the road sub-sector, the Zambian contractors have performed substantially well. When you look at roads where routine maintenance is taking place, the small scale contractors have done well,” Mr. Simumba noted.
And Mr. Simumba observed that erratic funding to the construction sector has been one of the challenges affecting local contractors.
He said where funding is made available, it has been provided in piecemeal, making it difficult for contractors to plan their future projects.
“It has even created problems in terms of those contractors who borrowed from banks to finance their implementation of projects meaning they have lost out and when it comes to the small contractors, it has even hampered their investments in future. W here funding is erratic or payments have delayed, you have no room to invest in equipment and other tools to enable you grow.
“However with all these challenges, Zambian contractors have remained persistent and have continued to do what is expected of them,” he stated.
