We are not consulted on CDF projects despite shoddy works – Surveyors
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NewsThe Surveyors Institute of Zambia (SIZ) has […]
The Surveyors Institute of Zambia (SIZ) has raised alarm over the failure by the local councils to consult during or after the CDF project, hence the persistent shoddy works. According to previous articles done by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, many stakeholders across the country have criticized the Ministry of Local Government, the councils, and allies over the poor project implementation, which is mostly conducted by local contractors.
Speaking in an interview with ZBT, SIZ President, Christopher Mulenga revealed that despite calls on the need for the council to engage the big five players, engineers, planners, architects, and surveyors, both in quantity and valuation, there has been reproper bill of quantities.
We have now ourselves; we are talking about the best five. We should be engaged from inception before the project commences,” he said.
Interestingly, Mulenga told ZBT sistance. “Most of the projects are shoddy due to a lack of participation, in terms of the people involved, and from our perspective we are never engaged despite being the ones who undertake feasibility studies,” said Mulenga.
He further urged the local authorities to engage the surveyors from the inception of the projects, to safeguard the quality of the project. Mulenga also reminded the players involved in CDF that consultation and measures of professional involvement must be undertaken.
“You need an engineer, an architect that is able to provide the designs for the planners, and projects that are able to provide the that most of the works are done by bricklayers, who are big players but lack the holistic knowledge to facilitate better works.
“It is really not favourable for engineers because there is resistance from designers and planners who want to protect their turf and take all the credit, yet the amount of money involved is so huge that we need to see proper projects delivered as it is depriving the authorities of revenue,” he said.
Article by Samuel Mutale
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