By Wilfred Golden

National Construction Industry Council of Malawi (NCIC), says there is need for local industry players in the country to adopt core values stipulated by the council which are; quality, integrity, partnership, innovation and stakeholders focus.

Chief Executive Officer at NCIC, Engineer Gerald Khonje, said this during a graduation ceremony held in two categories of Foremanship and Certificate in construction management.

He said these core values will enable them to work professionally as they are executing their duties.

“As you are aware there has been an outcry regarding the issue of quality in the construction industry and we want that narrative to change, the beginning point is to have the sufficient capacity to be able to implement any type of project in the country and we are calling upon them to work diligently and professionally.

“But we are also calling upon others who are interested to take part in the construction industry to come and participate in these skills, so that their skills are sharpened,” Khonje highlighted.

In his remarks, Executive Director at TEVETA, Elwin Sichiola said it is very worrisome that big contract deals which had an opportunity of changing a life of a Malawian contractors are given to foreign contractors and emphasized that time has come that these local players should start winning big contracts as they have acquired the required skills and knowledge and he encouraged the graduates to have sharp minds as the sky is not even their limit.

“You must understand that construction is a big thing in this country as largely most Malawians have been in small constructions, but when we get to big contracts we have seen alot of foreign contractors and as these graduates most of them are already in the construction industry in different companies and some are not and we are saying go out there compete and grow so that one day as a country we can have a local company dominate big contracts in this country then it will help us to preserve forex and help in developing this country,” Sichiola said.

He also said that as TEVATA they are doing a number of interventions as they also work hand in hand with the construction industry in the development of the curriculum and they also make sure that all students who are on trainings are also involved in practical works offered by TEVETA as they believe that when they combine classroom trainings with industry experience the graduates tends to be more suited to the needs of the industry.

One of the graduating students Sarah Chirwa said as managers in the construction industry they will make sure that they factor in the issue of quality as they will be executing their duties.

NCIC, has accredited 60 students in Foremanship as well as 27 students with certificate in construction management.