State House warns contractors
... 20% business must go to local contractors
STATE House has warned foreign contractors abrogating a contractual obligation to offer 20 percent of their business to local firms to ensure that was respected.
This came to the fore yesterday when Special Assistant to the President for Project Implementation and Monitoring Andrew Chellah toured several major projects and discovered that local contractors were not being sub contracted as directed by President Edgar Lungu.
Mr Chellah took to task foreign contractors for non-compliance over the twenty (20) percent sub contraction of contracts to local contractors.
The President has made it clear that all foreign contractors must work with locals by subcontracting 20 percent of the work to local contractors.
Speaking after the tour of the projects, Special Assistant to the President for Project Implementation and Monitoring Andrew Chellah expressed disappointment at the sites inspected because the foreign contractors were not abiding by the 20 percent policy.
Mr. Chellah said there was need for the contractors to follow the laws of the country because ignorance was not going to be considered as an excuse.
He however, noted that the progress of some of the projects was impressive due to the quality of works by the various contractors visited as most of them were on schedule.
And speaking at the same event, Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary Charles Spanje urged contractors to abide by the labour laws of the country.
Mr. Spanje stated that it was important for contractors to ensure that their workers received the correct conditions of service.
He said contractors should strive to create and maintain good working relationships with their employees in order to achieve the objectives that had been set by them without the use of abuse.
The sites visited were office blocks under the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Expansion of the Mungwi road, the Extension of Levy Mwanawasa Teaching Hospital and the upgrading of the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport and the Specialized Hospital off Airport road.