{"id":430051,"date":"2011-05-25T13:17:04","date_gmt":"2011-05-25T13:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/25\/construction-sector-remains-prone-to-corruption\/"},"modified":"2011-05-25T13:17:04","modified_gmt":"2011-05-25T13:17:04","slug":"construction-sector-remains-prone-to-corruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/25\/construction-sector-remains-prone-to-corruption\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction Sector Remains Prone to Corruption"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tanzania Daily News<\/a> (Dar\u00a0es\u00a0Salaam)<\/p>\n

Sebastian Mrindoko<\/p>\n

24 May 2011<\/p>\n

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THOUGH construction sector plays a vital role in the country’s economic and social development, it remains one of those areas occupying the top position as far as corruption ranking is concerned. Construction sector is particularly prone to grand corruption because of the large amount of funds involved in the execution of projects.<\/p>\n

Lack of transparency process in the procurement of consultants and contractors’ services also exacerbate corruption in the industry. The government, which spends about 60 per cent of its development budget to develop infrastructure, remains the major employer of contractors, with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) putting the growth of construction<\/p>\n

industry at 11.2 percent in the third quarter of 2010 compared to a negative growth rate of 5.4 percent in the preceding quarter of 2009.<\/p>\n

The outstanding performance was attributed to an increase in the construction of residential and non residential buildings, roads and bridges; and land improvement activities. However, some recent surveys have established that the scale of corruption in the construction sector worldwide exceeds that of all other sectors including arms and petrochemicals.<\/p>\n

According the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) Director General, Dr Edward Hosea, there is no official study done to determine the level of corruption in the construction industry but much has been done in recent years. “I have directed the PCCB officials in the regional offices to make a close follow up of all development projects in order to curb corrupt practices so as to achieve the value for money,” he says, calling for the Public-Private Partnership not only in developmental perspective but also in disclosing greedy officials who misuse scarce public resources.<\/p>\n

Dr Hosea cites the central bank’s twin towers corruption scandal as one of the many cases that PCCB has dealt with, though there are a number of small cases dealt countrywide. There are corruption scandals in district and town councils, mostly revolving around construction of substandard school buildings, roads and health facilities.<\/p>\n

Emphasising on the proper use of the infrastructure funds, the Works Minister Dr John Magufuli has recently directed the Road Fund management to curb misuse and misallocation of funds allocated to road projects, the key component in development strides. “For example, some district and town councils had been spending the road funds for paying allowances, which is not only against the law but also could lead into many projects unaccomplished,” charges Dr Magufuli.<\/p>\n

According to the latest report by the Controller and Audit General (CAG), a number of district and town councils across the country were reportedly misappropriating public funds that the central government had allotted to infrastructure development. Rough estimates have it that in Tanzania, over 10 per cent of the monetary value of construction projects is siphoned out through corrupt practices, ultimately landing into custody of unethical parties to the construction contracts.<\/p>\n

However, over 90 per cent of construction contracts and about 70 per cent of all consultancies in the industry are allegedly secured corruptly. Tanzania Civil Engineering Contractors Association (TACECA) claims that 90 per cent of contractors spend between 10 and 15 per cent of the contract value as kickbacks to corrupt government officials involved in the tendering process. Shoddy works and inappropriate designs arising from compromised contracts stand as testimonies to the claims. The Construction Industry Policy has corruption, financial mismanagement and nontransparent systems appearing glaringly as the major constraints in the industry. But, according to Transparency International’s corruption perception index (CPI), Tanzania has been improving steadily over the years.<\/p>\n

Tanzania remains one of the few Sub-Saharan countries that have reached a historically high CPI score of 3.2 from last year’s score of 2.7. Corruption in construction sector takes place in many forms, the common ones being bribery, exhortation, fraud and collusion. It can also happen in the form of bureaucracy, greed, lack of transparency and accountability as well as lack of enforcement of relevant laws.<\/p>\n

Through corruption, bids are won by not the most capable but the most corrupt! Corruption has devastating consequences on the environment, built structures and social welfare of the communities in which the project is constructed, corruptly. As a result of deeply entrenched perception among clients, contractors and consultants that everything commands corrupt payments, the profession has suffered, morale amongst engineers and technicians has dropped, leaving the industry on the hands of the felons.<\/p>\n

While the involvement of international contractors and consultants is good for the industry because of the skills and knowledge brought in to assist in the country’s development, the sad story is that the foreign multinational companies sometimes worsen the problems rather than offering the solution.<\/p>\n

It’s alleged that under the corrupt environment, ultimately it is the big companies with financial muscles to offer tempting kickbacks that end up winning the contracts. A local contractor, preferring anonymity, says that although corruption in the construction sector involves bribery and frauds perpetrated by government officials, it is ultimately the taxpayer who bears the costs. The contractors always recoup the cost of bribes they pay to corrupt government officials through shoddy works and inflated prices.<\/p>\n

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Tanzania Daily News (Dar\u00a0es\u00a0Salaam) Sebastian Mrindoko 24 May 2011 THOUGH construction sector plays a vital role in the country’s economic and social development, it remains one of those areas occupying the top position as far as corruption ranking is concerned. Construction sector is particularly prone to grand corruption because of the large amount of funds involved in the execution of projects. 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