NCC has also projected a 15% growth in the construction industry this year compared to the 13% recorded last year.
The growth in the construction industry has been attributed to increased infrastructure development across the country.
NCC executive director Sylvester Mashamba said it is against the law to engage unregistered contractors because they are likely to do shoddy works.
“We had cases at the newly-built Levy Business Park where the main contractor Group five/ZCON was registered with us but had 26 subcontractors who were not registered.
We had to penalise the contractor for using unregistered contractors and the subcontractors for working without valid registration requirements and Group Five/ZCON has so far paid about K500 million,” he said.
Dr Mashamba has since called on contractors to ensure that they register with the council and engage contractors who are registered to avoid being penalised.
He said this at a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday.
Dr Mashamba said various construction projects in the road, health, education, energy, agriculture and tourism sectors have contributed to the expected growth in the construction industry.
He said the industry is expected to post further growth following Government’s commitment towards infrastructure development.
“This trend will continue going by Government’s commitment towards infrastructure development as seen from the 2012 national budget where over K4 trillion has been set aside for roadworks alone as compared to the K3trillion in the 2011 budget,” he said.
He,however, said despite the industry recording an average growth of about 17% in the last 10 years, there is need to ensure that this growth translates to reduced poverty levels.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
ukulyamo pa Zed…top….
Zcon should pay its workers salaries for three months now. People are suffering who worked so hard for this company. Labour officers need to visit ZCON not only blaming on Chinanes for not obeying labour laws.
Well done, at last! This is long overdue. It is not just the shoddy work that these cowboys do, but life is also endangered. We should learn lesson from Iran where an earthquake killed so many people compared to Japan, because of poorly constructed buildings. We may not have earthquakes but we should not wait to learn the lesson. I have pointed out again and again that the roads and buildings in Zambia are not built to international standards, but I am glad to know that there is an institution mandated to oversee these things. The question is; where were they ALL these years?
let them pay and show us that money has been credited into govt accounts..
This is rubbish , the ZCON where putting money in small scale/briefcase contractors sha.
Very Good Job NCC, these companies should follow the law and I hope those small companies will be taxed.