The Executive Director of Trust Consult, Mr Charles Mensah, has called on the government to pass a local content law that will compel all foreign civil construction companies in the country to partner local construction companies.
He said that would help build and develop the capacity of the local construction companies.
“We must pass a law that will prevent foreign companies from securing any construction contract without a local partner over a period of time. This will help build the capacity of the local companies within the period and we can then take that protection off so that we all compete,” he said.
Mr Mensah said this in an interview at a workshop for construction companies, organised by Helmet, in Accra. The workshop brought together 150 local construction companies.
He said a local content would not only ensure increasing Ghanaian participation in the construction sector but would provide employment opportunities.
Mr Mensah also pointed out that the Local Content Act which was passed in the oil sector had been solid in ensuring that the oil finds benefitted the country, and therefore the need to pass a similar law in the construction sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of Helmet, Mr Harold Ntorinkansah Jnr, emphasised the need to equip the local construction companies with the necessary skills and training to avoid some of the errors and disasters such as the collapse of buildings.
Collapse of buildings in recent times has become very alarming in the country, resulting in loss of lives, severe injuries and destruction of properties.
It also comes as a huge cost to the state through the clearing of debris, rescuing survivors and paying insurance.
Between 2012 and 2015, Accra has recorded five major building collapses, claiming a total of 19 lives.
The Melcom building collapse near Achimota in 2012 claimed 14 lives whereas the Grand View Hotel building collapse at Nii-Boi town in 2014 recorded four deaths.
Two other buildings collapsed in 2014; the building near Akai House at Cantonments which claimed one life whereas the Central University Hostel building collapse in Dawhenya recorded no death.
Recently, there was another multi-storey building collapse in Cantonment that recorded three deaths.
All of these disasters were largely blamed on the contractors and the construction companies.
Mr Ntorinkansah said everybody tended to blame the contractors for all the errors but nobody had made an effort to help them avoid some of those problems.
He said Helmet had decided to roll out workshop programmes in all the regions in the country to train and develop the capacity of the local contractors to avoid such errors.
“We have brought together management consultants and engineers with high level of experience to engage them in a practical training to build their capacities,” he said.
Source: Graphic