By NATION REPORTER
THE National Council for Construction (NCC) has issued a stop order against Alasia Building Construction Limited contracted by Lamasat International for the ongoing construction works at Carousel shopping centre in Lusaka.
Executive Director, Paul Makasa, said as a regulator in the construction industry, it is concerned with the rampant disregard for the provisions of the relevant laws governing construction in Zambia, which has led to loss of lives in some instances.
Professor Makasa said in view of this, NCC is enhancing measures to enforce provisions of the NCC Act No. 10 of 2020 and its subsidiary regulations.
“Yesterday (Thursday), a combined team from NCC and the Zambia Institute of Architects in a joint operation, visited ongoing construction works being undertaken at Carousel Shopping Centre in Lusaka and noted that the contractor was unregistered contrary to provisions of the NCC Act No. 10 of 2020. There were no provisions for ensuring the safety of workers.
The workers were not provided with personal protective equipment, the area was not barricaded to protect members of public considering it was a live site with ongoing business activities. There was no project billboard in place to indicate project information . There were no approved drawings from the local authority on site and works were not designed or being supervised by qualified persons from relevant bodies.
“We also wish to state that NCC monitoring and compliance specialists has earlier visited the site on September 19,2023 and later issued a stop order on September 27,2023, which they have violated and continued to work with impunity. NCC has further fined the client a total of 500,000 penalty units (K150,000) for this offence,” he said.
Prof Makasa said, while on site the team was reliably informed that one supervisor had suffered an electrical accident and could not report for work.
“We also interviewed one person who was recovering from laceration on his left foot as a result of an accident on site,”Prof Makasa said.
He has warned all contractors that the honeymoon for rampant disregard for the rule of law in the construction sector is over.
Prof Makasa said NCC will continue to collaborate with professional bodies to ensure there is sanity in the construction sector.
He said NCC remains committed to improving the quality of infrastructure in support of national development and will not hesitate to revoke certificates of contractors found wanting.
“Contractors and members of the public are therefore urged to ensure that they comply with all necessary regulations,” he said.
