22 Sep 2019

The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development, Mr Vincent Seretse, has told construction industry players to embrace professionalism.

He said this during a launch of Botswana builders and construction expo in Gaborone.

He quoted reports from various sources, which he said indicated that construction was one of the sectors where corruption was rampant.

According to Minister Seretse, industry players needed to guard against corruption taking over construction sector, which was once the biggest contributors to the Gross Domestic Product.

He further said the ministry had embarked on a process to professionalise the sector through enactment of laws, which facilitated for self-regulation of the sector.

He noted that professional registration acts for the establishment of registration body for architects, engineers and quantity surveyors were already in operation.

“You are therefore urged to comply with these acts in your various areas of operation so that only those with requisite expertise and experience operate in your industry,” Minister Seretse said.

The minister also described the bill, which had been drafted to establish a construction Industry Authority, as a means  to manage affairs of the sector so as to professionalise it and to ensure that the industry thrived.

He explained that presentation of the bill to Parliament had been delayed due to many other bills, which had to be drafted and presented to Parliament.

Minister Seretse, however, expressed hope that the bill would be one of the priorities which the new Parliament would consider when it resumes after the general elections.

He also appealed to importers of construction and building-related products to support local manufacturers in order to help reduce the import bill, adding that those with manufacturing bases outside the country should establish local manufacturing outfits in the country to meet the demands of local markets.

Minister Seretse said Botswana had one of the most conducive investment environments in Sub-Saharan Africa, which made access to SADC markets and the rest of Africa easy.

General manager for Builders Mart Warehouse, Mr Kutlo Motshubi, said value chain players needed to showcase their strengths within the local and regional market in order to enrich relationships with their partners.

He said all players within the sector needed to work together to ensure that the business to business and business to customer relationships were beneficial to each other. Ends