A formal process has been initiated in an effort to rebuild trust that had been “catastrophically” destroyed between government and the construction industry after revelations of widespread collusion, Murray & Roberts (M&R) CEO Henry Laas has revealed.
The initiative was being facilitated by the South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors. Laas said it was vital for government and industry to re-engage and to discuss ways of restoring the image of an industry that remained critical to the implementation of the R847-billion medium-term infrastructure programme, which itself was regarded as vital to improving South Africa’s future growth and development fortunes.
“We have started the process . . . and there is a willingness from the side of government to engage with us,” he revealed, adding that he was optimistic that the discussions, together with the recent Civilution Congress, could help accelerate infrastructure delivery.
Laas said he felt government was reluctant to award work to firms that it no longer trusted and also there was a lack of capacity within government to manage the project pipeline.
By: Terence Creamer
Read the full article here: http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/construction-industry-government-in-bid-to-mend-catastrophically-damaged-relations-2014-04-09/rep_id:3182
