ZCIA SUCCESSFULLY HOSTS INAUGURAL CONFERENCE IN NYANGA

The Zimbabwe Construction Industry Association (ZCIA) hosted its three-tiered inaugural ZCIA Annual General Meeting, Conference and Construction Industry Excellence Awards, a premier event that gathered all the construction industry stakeholders to collaborate and share ideas on the current state of affairs and how to improve our built environment industry.

The theme of the conference was “Reshaping the Built Environment by Harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution for Sustainable Development Goals”.

The conference ran from the1st to the 3rd of June 2023 at Troutbeck Inn in Nyanga and was attended by delegates from across the built environment sector in Zimbabwe with other delegates from outside the country, especially South Africa. Built industry players present included the Institute of Architects Zimbabwe (IAZ), the Construction Industry Federation of Zimbabwe (CIFOZ), the Zimbabwe Institute of Engineers (ZIE), the Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association (ZBCA), the Zimbabwe Association of Consulting Engineers (ZACE), Zimbabwe Institute of Geomatics (ZIG), and The Real Estate Institute of Zimbabwe (REIZ).

Address by the Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities:

The Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities, Mr. Daniel Garwe, who was the keynote speaker, spoke about the progress being made at the New Cyber City in Mount Hampden. He said that the massive project is on course but its completion would be dependent on the participation of the private sector. He encouraged the private sector to come forward and partner in the development of various sectors of the project, such as the construction of modern accommodation facilities, shopping malls and other amenities.

The Minister said, “I am sure you are aware that the Project Manager has been appointed already to superintend the appointment of architects, engineers and all the other consultants. It’s already a work in progress. The bulk of the new city is going to be private-sector funded. Government is saying those who can mobilise financial resources right now please come on board. We will allocate the land and give you the specifications needed, in terms of what needs to be developed. We also have an investor from Dubai, Mulk International, who has been doing some planning and preparatory work on site. So, we’re inviting the built environment players and financial institutions and I am happy National Building Society, as government, is here. We want the National Building Society to take a lead role in mobilising financial resources for those who want to form consortiums to help us develop the new city.”

He told the delegates that there is going to be very little work commissioned through tendering processes or set aside for funding from the treasury. Noting that this is a private sectordriven initiative the government was inviting both domestic and foreign investors to join hands with the government to develop the new city. In his presentation he mentioned that the Cyber City project presents a lot of opportunities for architects, engineers, and other related professions. Talking about the state of affairs in the built environment, he said, “I received a brief with the industry’s expectations, industry by industry, sector by sector. I listened to all of them and felt I need to share with you a scripture from the Bible which I normally share with people with expectations such as yours. If you go to the Book of Mark Chapter 11 verse 24, it says, “Whatsoever you shall desire, if you pray and believe in the prayer you will receive it and have it in Jesus’ name Amen.” So, as you leave Troutbeck Inn, go and read and contextualise that scripture, that verse. You’ll be able to get what you are desiring.”

He also said that the Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities was created primarily to focus on the issues that were discussed at the conference. It was mandated in November 2019 when the Ministry was created. Its responsibility is to listen to the voice of the built environment professionals and its mandate is to drive a private sector-driven Ministry. What that means, he explained, is that the Ministry is among the ministries with the smallest budget but with probably the biggest responsibility to deal with issues that are affecting how people are living in terms of settlements.

“It’s a mammoth task to bring back dignity to the Zimbabwean populace, to bring back easy access to shelter. That mandate cannot be fulfilled by the government alone but by the government and the private sector together. I am happy, humbled and honoured by the participation coming from the private sector to date in terms of housing delivery. We have got our architects very active; you can see the houses that are being designed. We’ve got our engineers very active as well, we’ve got our property developers, the real estate actors bringing in innovations in terms of the mobilisation of financial resources, participating in human settlement delivery.”

He thanked the National Building Society (NBS) for the role that they have played to date in the housing delivery programme. He said that there are many areas that the Ministry still needs to look at and he was aware of where the ministry was coming from as he has strong and direct built environment experience dating back many decades. He added that the Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association (ZBCA) was formed to put pressure on government to come up with empowerment policies and that the construction industry is now driven by the actors.

“You must now focus on innovative ways that will ensure survival as business people rather than as contractors, as business people more than as architects and engineers.

We must recalibrate our mindsets, recalibrate how we look at business,” he challenged the delegates.

He reminded them that within the housing sector the Ministry has a policy on human settlements that speaks to the aspirations of the built environment players. He stated that, “There is a boom in the housing sector but the players in the industry are not seeing it due to the fact they have failed to regroup. We have been reluctant to organise ourselves and people coming from outside have seen an opportunity to do business in the built environment and have taken that market from yourselves and they are employing you.”

He encouraged the construction industry to work with registered architects as a way of bringing sanity back to the industry. He added that players in the built environment should look at opportunities brought about by the transformation of rural district councils into towns. These towns include Murehwa, Mutoko, Chivhu, Tsholotsho, Nyanga, Esigodini and others. Opportunities in these newly proclaimed towns include the building of various structures like roads, housing, sewer and water reticulation, and so forth. These are virgin areas that most built environment players have never thought of and would need to move in fast.

Awards:

The highlight of the conference was the Construction Industry Excellence Awards which brought together all industry stakeholders to acknowledge each other’s success stories.

The award winners were:

Building Materials Supplier of the Year: Union

Hardware and Halsteds (Runner Up)

Supplier of the Year: Water & Reticulation:

DripTech and ProPlastics (Runner Up)

Supplier of the Year: Road & Public Works:

Bitumen and Masimba Holdings (Runner Up)

Construction Financier of the Year: National Building Society and Old Mutual (Runner Up) Property Developer of the Year: West

Property and Old Mutual (Runner Up)

Architectural Practice of the Year: Natsanza Architects and Studio Arts Inc (Runner Up)

The Zimbabwe Construction Industry Association (ZCIA) is a voluntary umbrella body that was established in 1994 to bring together all the stakeholders in the built environment.

Permanent Secretary, Harare Metropolitan Province (Provincial Affairs and Devolution) Tafadzwa Muguti, says Zimbabwe has the capacity to utilise the knowledge, skills and competencies of its engineering professionals and attain world-class levels in engineering projects.

He made the comments during the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony held at the Rainbow Towers Hotel on the 19th of May.

“The plethora of engineering challenges the nation is facing require targeted investments in infrastructure development, technological innovation and workforce development in various engineering disciplines. This calls