Players in the construction industry have cited poor workmanship and corruption among reasons for low quality infrastructure.
They have since also faulted the ‘lowest bidder policy’ as a contribution, saying, sometimes, some bidders are given contracts because they have offered the lowest bid, even without having a track record and capacity.
This came out during National Construction Industry Council (NCIC) training for industry players on regulations on Thursday in Blantyre.
In an interview, Malawi Board of Architects and Quantity Surveyors Board Member Ethel Chitsanthi admitted the quality of most infrastructures is not impressive.
She said the industry has accommodated non-professionals to take up some roles which have contributed to poor workmanship.
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“There are people who just register companies but do not know anything about construction. As a result, they employ people who may have little knowledge in the field, hence the substandard work.
“Another challenge is the policy where the government opts for the lowest bidding price to be awarded contracts. This is the reason we have a lot of unfinished projects and substandard infrastructure,” Chitsanthi said.
NCIC Chief Executive Officer Gerald Khonje said the meeting was hosted to orient players on the Infrastructure Delivery Management Standards and Construction Cost Indices to guide clients when they are budgeting for construction in order to mitigate against unrealistic low prices.
“The lowest bidder aspect has been misused, misunderstood and applied universally when industries are different.
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“We are also in collaboration with the PPDA [Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority] to look at how we can streamline procurement in construction so that the basic elements and key things are taken into account when pricing and procuring construction works,” Khonje said.
For years, there have been concerns over continued loss of billions of Kwacha each year due to substandard infrastructure projects, a situation experts have decried as retrogressive.
Corruption during bidding and tendering processes, lack of capacity among some contractors and consultants and a quest for cheap labour are among the contributing factors to poor workmanship in the industry.
