Financial Gazette (Harare)
Property Reporter
8 May 2008
Harare — THE World Council of Civil Engineers (WCCE) has warned industry players in the construction industry to shun corruption, which has emerged as one of the biggest obstacles to the country's economic turnaround.
Martin Manuhwa, the vice president of the WCCE revealed last week that the industry was vulnerable to graft because of the significant building contracts involved "as well as monopolistic services, which may lead to corrupt practices."
"Infrastructure sectors are particularly exposed to corrupt practices since they involve monopolies or quasi-monopolies for concessions or privatisations, all of them possible for huge profits," he said.
Manuhwa, who doubles up as the president of Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers said this at a conference held in Harare last week under the topic, Multi-sectoral Professional Code of Conduct, Ethics and Anticorruption Conference for the Construction Industry
Manuhwa said corruption distorts public expenditures, undermines institutions and deters further investments. To rid the industry of corruption, he said, elaboration strategies involving all key stakeholders were required.
"Measures must be of course be tailored to fit particular context of a country's governance and legal system and efforts can only be effective if they reflect a country's own priorities," he said.
He said there was also need for professional engineering associations to come up with impeccable code of ethics, and rules of conduct for its members.
"These are the biggest players in the construction. They represent all the stakeholders in one capacity or the other. If engineers are ethical there will be a significant reduction in corruption," he said.
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