‘Local road contractors lack expertise in contract bidding’
Dr Frank Byamugisha, a consultant with the World Bank on land.
Kampala. Local road contractors miss out on contracts due to lack of bidding expertise, a ministry of Education official has said.
Ms Ethel Kyobe, the director of industrial training, said :“The bidding process is very rigorous yet our local contractors do not know how to prepare bidding documents. It needs technical know how to make an outstanding bid proposal,” Ms Kyobe.
She was speaking at a road contractors workshop organised by Uganda National Association for Building and Civil Engineering last week.
Ms Kyobe also said some engineers need to do refresher courses so as to match with the fast evolving technology. She warned that those who will not embrace technology will continue missing out on contracts.
“You must be versatile with the fast improving technology. You need to recruit technical people who are well equipped with bidding and machinery abilities. This is one of the ways you can win over contracts,” she said.
Mr Chris Folwell a specialist in capacity building, also member of the Crossroads Secretariat also said training workers helps to minimise site hazards.
He cautioned construction proprietors against sacking workers lacking formal education saying they can be more useful if they are given opportunities to become qualified. This, he said, improves relations among the workforce and proprietors.
