THE Government has put in place mechanisms to detect fraud and malpractices in the construction industry, Works and Supply Deputy Minister, Christopher Kalila has said.

The Government is implementing the Construction Sector Transparency (CoST) initiative, an international multi-stakeholder programme designed to increase transparency and accountability in the construction sector.

Speaking when he opened a CoST media workshop in Lusaka, Dr Kalila said the aim of the programme was to enhance accountability of procuring entities (PEs) and construction companies for the cost and quality of public sector construction projects.

He said the Government considered projects such as CoST to complement the existing measures of preventing, detecting, punishing and eradicating corruption in the construction industry.

The CoST initiative would achieve this by encouraging public PEs to disclose to the public material project information on selected projects.

"You are all aware, especially the media, that in the past there were complaints of shoddy works in public funded construction projects. Some of these complaints were genuine," Dr Kalila said.

He said the Government was indebted to the British government, through the Department for International Development and the World Bank for supporting Zambia in the fight against corruption and its associated vices in the construction industry.

Earlier, Transparency International Zambia president Rueben Lifuka said the CoST initiative would enhance transparency and accountability of public-financed construction projects.

Mr Lifuka said Zambia was one of the seven countries selected to pilot the exercise, with others being the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Philippines, Malawi, Ethiopia and Tanzania.