upepo
Elder Lister
That the building sector has forever been mired in crisis is not debatable. As we stand today, more than 95% of the buildings are put up with no professional input whatsoever. This reality is particularly worrying as too many mistakes remain buried in these buildings, mistakes that can be avoided with very minimal input from professionals. This sad state of affairs results from the lack of innovation and reasonableness in the institutions entrusted to regulate the building sector. The entire country operates on pre-colonial building ordinances that are, at best, impractical and near obsolete. For instance, if I wanted to put up a pit latrine, I would certainly benefit from professional input. However, it would be unreasonable to expect me to chase a dozen documents from as many entities, most of which will be interested in the fees I pay as opposed to helping me put up a sound structure. This red tape prevents most builders from following through with the required licensing processes. Actually, for someone putting up a small bungalow, chasing the paperwork is more brain-wracking than putting up the actual structure given the multitude of hands that need greasing to append their signatures.
The other major reason for the failure witnessed in the building sector is the elitism and exclusivity that professionals in the sector seek to impose. This leads to a situation where professionals in the sector charge exorbitantly fees for very minimal input, comfortable in the knowledge that their positions are protected from competition by the various bodies that grant practicing licenses. If I can benefit from the services of a specialist medical practitioner who spent two decades in training, why should it be so tasking to obtain building consultancy services from a twat who barely made it through five years of college (this description excludes @shocks and @randy. Don’t waylay me with shovels in the evening.)
The way forward would be to adopt practical solutions that will improve the building sector for the benefit of the entire society. It does not make sense to have dangerously constructed buildings amid an abundance of unemployed building professionals. For instance, the counties could offer free building consultancy services for small construction works up to a certain size. This way, the counties would be providing employment to building professionals while engendering the application of best practices in the sector. With time, even the informal workers in the sector will learn to do things better and investors will begin to appreciate the importance of incorporating professional input in construction. This suggestion may sound impractical but countries like Seychelles have a similar arrangement in place. We do not need to wait for a major disaster to start acting.
The other major reason for the failure witnessed in the building sector is the elitism and exclusivity that professionals in the sector seek to impose. This leads to a situation where professionals in the sector charge exorbitantly fees for very minimal input, comfortable in the knowledge that their positions are protected from competition by the various bodies that grant practicing licenses. If I can benefit from the services of a specialist medical practitioner who spent two decades in training, why should it be so tasking to obtain building consultancy services from a twat who barely made it through five years of college (this description excludes @shocks and @randy. Don’t waylay me with shovels in the evening.)
The way forward would be to adopt practical solutions that will improve the building sector for the benefit of the entire society. It does not make sense to have dangerously constructed buildings amid an abundance of unemployed building professionals. For instance, the counties could offer free building consultancy services for small construction works up to a certain size. This way, the counties would be providing employment to building professionals while engendering the application of best practices in the sector. With time, even the informal workers in the sector will learn to do things better and investors will begin to appreciate the importance of incorporating professional input in construction. This suggestion may sound impractical but countries like Seychelles have a similar arrangement in place. We do not need to wait for a major disaster to start acting.