Minister of Works and Transport Veikko Nekundi has revealed that the Construction Industries Bill is nearing the end of the internal process and will soon be submitted to the Cabinet Committee on Legislation.
This follows a question raised by Swapo MP Justina Jonas about when the Minister intends to table the bill and what procedural challenges have delayed its progress since 2019.
Nekundi attributed the delays to the complexity of the industry and the diversity of stakeholders, who requested further consultations to ensure the legislation addresses their concerns.
On local participation in major construction projects, the Minister acknowledged that most large projects are dominated by foreign-owned companies, with only three or four local contractors having the capacity to participate, and that their capacity remains limited.
He announced that the Ministry, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, including the Procurement Policy Unit under the Ministry of Finance, had finalised a Local Contractors Development Programme.
“The Procurement Policy Unit, under the Ministry of Finance, together with all other stakeholders, has just finalised the Local Contractors Development Programme, which we also intend to table before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Trade within the next week or so. To ensure that our local contractors have the requisite capacity to participate adequately, as desired by the government, we must address some of the greatest challenges they face. Honourable Speaker and Members, one of the main challenges preventing many local contractors from participating is the three key requirements. First, they must have experience in the relevant type of project for which they intend to tender. Second, they must have the required equipment. This heavy equipment is very expensive to acquire and maintain."
Nekundi said the programme aims to address these shortcomings and improve local contractors' participation in major projects.
He reiterated that ongoing consultations had contributed to the Bill's delay, as industry stakeholders continued to raise concerns about provisions they believed restricted their participation.
The Minister said the Bill was approaching its final stages.
It will then be submitted to the relevant Cabinet committee, referred to the Attorney-General for certification, and tabled in the National Assembly for consideration and enactment.