Local contractors protest new policy

LOCAL contractors have protested Government’s decision to stop engaging contractors in township roads contracts .

The National Small Scale Contractors demanded that Government rescinds its decision with immediate effect.

Ministry of Local Government Permanent Secretary,

Ed Chomba announced that council engineers would construct all township roads countrywide to save on costs.

Dr Chomba said no contractors would be engaged for township roads.

Small scale contractors’ president, Mutale Mpepo however said doing away with the contractors would have negative impact on living standards of local contractors especially that they are not engaged in major contracts.

He said in an interview yesterday that government should be thinking about the plight of poor local contractors whenever making decisions.

Mr Mpepo said the decision was unfair to the local contractors in the country.

"If this is what the government intends to do then it will have a negative impact on the local contractors.

If there is something wrong local contractors have done for government to come with this decision there is need to dialogue and iron out issues.

"In these small contracts is where local contractors survive from. And what is the need to have contractors in the country when you do not want to give them jobs," Mr Mpepo said.

He also indicated that local authorities had no manpower to manage road projects in townships.