Zambian National Roads Fund Agency (NRFA) said that there is urgent need to build capacity among local contractors in order to enhance their efficiency.

Zambia Daily Mail Monday quoted NRFA director Raphael Mabenga as saying here Sunday that the fund has continues to receive numerous complaints that most of the local contractors are doing substandard work.

He said instead of condemning them there is need to find the root cause of the problem and the fund will engaging in consultation with the National Construction Council (NCC) to find ways of improving the performance of the local contractors.

NRFA is particularly targeting local contractors in its projects as a way of empowering them and to help alleviate poverty in the communities, he said.

"It is not fair to continue condemning the local contractors for doing shoddy works without finding the root cause of the problem, we need to build capacity in them and that is why we are engaging NCC in a five-year strategic plan of ensuring that we raise the standards of our local contractors," said Mabenga.

He urged the Zambia Revenue Authority to address the imbalance between the local and foreign contractors.

It is difficult for the local contractor to compete with their foreign counterparts who bring in their equipment free of duty, Mabenga said.

Source: Xinhua