25 January 2008
Maputo — The Mozambican Contractors Federation (FME) is protesting to the Education Ministry against the establishment of financial ceilings by the ministry's School Construction and Equipment Office.
FME deputy chairperson Agostinho Vuma said that the financial ceilings imposed by the ministry are unrealistic in Mozambique because of contractors' dependence on building materials and equipment imported from South Africa and Europe.
Another negative factor is the poor capacity of the Mozambican contractors to store and manage stocks of materials and equipment in the provinces, and also the lack of certification of timber in the local market.
"The ceilings imposed by the Education Ministry are impractical in Mozambique because of the high cost of cement when compared with some countries in Asia and other continents, associated with the increasing cost of fuel, which recently reached 100 US dollars a barrel of crude. We also have areas with poor infrastructures and of difficult access because of their poor road network and poor supply of water and power, both in rural and urban areas", he said.
Vuma clearly does not follow developments on the oil market, since the current price of crude is below 90 dollars a barrel.
Vuma claimed that construction costs for a single square metre are 300 US dollars, but the ministry sometimes asks contractors to build for a maximum cost of 100 US dollars per square metre.
He said the ministry admits that these costs are not realistic in the Mozambican market but argues that their negotiations with the donors do not allow them to pay the real value of the work.
To solve this problem, FME proposes the creation of a Construction Council in the Ministry, which should include representatives of the contractors. The federation also wants the government to adopt policies to reduce the cost of the building materials for schools.
"It is our point of view that the current planning of low cost building jobs is set to affect negatively the quality of public works", Vuma said.
But no building company is forced to bid for tenders launched by the Education Ministry. Vuma did not explain why his members continue to bid for contracts they know they cannot honour.
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