Story by, Kenias Chivuzhe
PLAYERS in the construction industry have been challenged to complement government efforts in reducing the housing backlog and transforming informal settlements into planned residential areas.
The government is convinced that the construction industry has a huge role to play in providing services to numerous informal settlements countrywide.
This was raised by the Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities, Honourable Daniel Garwe during a construction conference held in Nyanga recently.
“We need to have a separate session with our building societies to find the best way forward in terms of dealing with issues around the mortgage system. The informal settlement is a thorn in the government’s flesh but on a positive note, they are creating business opportunities for people in the construction industry. There are roads to be built and they speak to the value chain. They have caused pain and suffering but they have created business opportunities. As we identify the challenges we have in the economy, we need to turn them into business opportunities and create businesses for ourselves. You need to gravitate away from being looked at as contractors to investors,” said Honourable Garwe.
The review of some provisions of the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) is expected to improve the ease of doing business and accelerate infrastructure development in the country.
He added saying “We agree as the government that the existing PRAZ regulations are counterproductive and we have decided to revise them so that they are user-friendly and conform to dictates of the national development strategy and vision 2030. If we follow the current PRAZ regulations, we will reach 2030 after achieving ten per cent of what needs to be done. It’s something that has been discussed at the highest level and decisions have been made to the effect that PRAZ must aid the ease of doing business and not bring a stumbling block.
The government views the construction industry as an engine of economic growth as the country targets an upper-middle-income society by 2030.
