In the wake of reports that some contractors are delivering substandard works in public projects, the government has said the National Construction Industry Council (NCIC) will deregister all contractors who fail in their duties.
The NCIC was established by an Act of Parliament in 1996 with a mandate to regulate, develop and promote the construction industry in Malawi
Minister of Transport and Public Works, Jappie Mhango, said some contractors have already been disciplined.
“It is disheartening that most contractors do not give us value for money. That is a fact. Measures have been put in place through the responsible agency, and that is National Construction Industry Council, which is mandated to discipline wayward contractors. To this end, as I speak, a few contractors have been disciplined because of underperforming in a number of projects.
“The honeymoon is over. If the contractor is found to underperform, they will not form part of the list of contractors that will be registered by the NCIC. Let me appeal to members that immediately we find a contractor doing substandard works, we should report that so that we get value for our money,” Mhango said.
Mhango was responding to a question from Member of Parliament for Ntcheu South, Damson Chimalira, who wanted to know why the government has been paying underperforming contractors.
Chimalira mentioned two roads in his constituency where the contractors did shoddy work but the government proceeded to pay for the services.
The council registers contractors, consultants, material suppliers and manufacturers and monitors their progress by ensuring that they are operating within rules set forth in the National Construction Industry Act (1996) and codes of ethics (2009).
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