Building Investment

Lusaka and many parts of Zambia are booming with new construction projects. Malls, shopping centres, fuel stations, hotels, office blocks, schools, houses, apartment blocks, warehouses and factories are springing up everywhere.

Construction in Zambia is recorded as one of the major growth sectors of economic activity over the last five years. This is evidenced by the large investments in cement production currently announced by various investors in addition to the new real estate developments visibly seen.

The number of builder’s hardware shops around the country is another sign that the demand for building materials and fittings is on the increase. There are probably as many hardware shops in Lusaka as there are motor vehicle spare parts outlets.

A prominent Architect in Lusaka recently indicated that the construction industry is undoubtedly the fastest economic vehicle for developing skills, opening new opportunities for value chain businesses, offering mass employment, wealth creation, and the attraction of capital and other businesses to a particular environment or community.

This all seems great news for Zambia and Lusaka in particular, but one asks; what are the bottlenecks and setbacks in trying to develop a booming construction sector in Zambia?

A booming construction sector is obviously as a consequence of other economic activities that compel and attract investment into real estate. A stable and predictable economy, lowering interest rates, relatively free market economic activity, high levels of foreign direct investment, low hassles in obtaining licenses and permits, and an open foreign exchange regime are some of the key factors that motivate long term investments such as in the construction sector.

The bottlenecks in construction at company level revolve mainly around quality and committed human resources.

During an inspection of a construction site it was observed that senior managers were compelled to be on site to manage and monitor progress. When asked why these high ranking staff had to do a foreman’s work, the response was that most artisans walking the streets today who are looking for work, were either ‘chancers’or , were well qualified but not committed to doing the work as demanded. Bricklayers demand to have several ‘person to holder’ helpers who sit around arranging the next block to be laid and preparing the mortar. A more efficient system would be to have two helpers for every five bricklayers. Plumbers use ‘shoprite’carrier bags as thread tape to connect piping and fittings. Much later, when the plumbing starts to leak the price to pay is the removal and replacement of ceramic tiles to access the leaking plumbing in the walls and a huge repair bill. Electricians will overload circuitry and even use smaller cables than that prescribed, in an effort to either save costs or mis-direct material to personal projects. The list goes on.

An assessment of the human resources at a building site shows that the quality staff tends to see themselves as consultants who are not interested in full time jobs but short term attachments. As a result, they will over extend themselves with several parallel commitments, and leave the real work to their assistants who are not qualified, and a poor job is often the end result.

The larger construction jobs require much steel fixing in the concrete pillars and beams. There are not many trained ‘steel fixers’ around and this expertise is often imported from neighbouring Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Taking all these issues into account one must conclude that our local colleges and training institutions are not developing enough crafts people, artisans, technicians, and technologists to cater for the construction boom in the economy. A quick look at the various training facilities in Lusaka reveal that several colleges running under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Training are fairly well equipped to train good quality carpenters, plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, welders, and mechanics. The throughput of these institutions could be increased if the facilities accommodated evening classes and provided short term courses for specific competencies.

One veteran expert in the construction industry compared the operation of the industry in the 1980’s with the situation today. In the 1980’s and the years before, the construction industry had a strong apprenticeship program that took in bright young Zambians to work under the tutelage of an expert and after a year or so another new expert would have been developed. This system infused short training programs for theory training with the ‘on the job’ practical training that was given on site. The veteran cited the various construction projects developed by the then Yugoslav companies. The Yugoslavs did not speak too much English and therefore usually physically demonstrated how the work needed to be done and the apprentices would ‘learn by doing’. The quality and commitment of such construction workers was second to none and the projects were completed in record time and at a high level of quality.

The veteran noted that when the experts in the construction industry became good English speakers the training evolved to where we are today. The boss barks out the commands and demands, and the workers do what they think he or she wants. What is the result? Misunderstandings, repeat jobs, shoddy work, and so on. This has a direct negative impact on the profitability of the project and pushes wages to lower levels.

Our current challenge is to empower our people with relevant and quality skills and competencies. The writing is on the wall. The mining industry is predicted to double its production within the next five years. There is a regional shortage of cement which indicates that construction is on the increase in Southern Africa. Zambia is planning to build more power stations. Tourism is growing every year. These indicators all point towards more construction and we must start to prepare for the demand for quality human resources in this sector.

My veteran colleague finally commented that construction is probably the fastest way of employing people in mass and creating wealth. In general an Architect and other Civil Engineers will take a month or two to design a big construction project. It will take another month to mobilise the materials for the project. By the fourth month the construction site will be busy with labourers, machinery and many experts working hard to put the drawings into brick and mortar on the ground. Hundreds of people are immediately employed and the skills transfer is immediate. At the end of the day the concrete monument will house business and commercial activities and the economy grows.

Published 6 May 2008