Several reports have emerged about cases of corruption in a construction project in Africa. Consequently, contractors have had to bear the brunt of the misfortune.
Take for instance, a case where Kenya Construction Authority recently blacklisted several contractors sand their licenses withdrawn over collapse of buildings. When deeply looked into, corruption played a major part in the misfortune.
Corruption is a major vice that has engulfed construction projects in Africa. At all times, beware of construction contractors who are willing to drop costs or want to offer kickbacks in a bid to get a construction contract.
However, you can tame corruption in a construction project in Africa.
As a manager who wants to get the right contractor to finish up your construction project pick the contractor who maintains his certain amount of overhead. If you see firm that is aggressively trying to drop its fees to win your business keep him off because the rate of reducing the fees gives you a red flag.
It is also very important to ask the contractor how many similar construction projects he has completed. This will give you a rough idea on what to expect from the potential contractor.
Ask a lot of questions and get a written bid from each one. When you compare bids, make sure each one includes the same materials and the same tasks, so you’re comparing apples and apples. Get three bids even if you have a contractor you like because you’ll learn something from each interview. “Don’t be afraid to negotiate,” Hicks says. While you might do some haggling at the interview, be prepared to do most of the negotiation after you get the bid and before you sign the contract.
If you’re doing a big project, you’ll need a general contractor, who may hire subcontractors for specialty work such as plumbing and electrical. Homeowners with renovation experience sometimes work as their own general contractors, hiring specific tradespeople for each job. While this may save you money, it can be time-consuming and will mean multiple contractor searches instead of just one, since you’ll have to find a specialist for each smaller job.
Whichever way you go,remember that you and your contractor will essentially be business partners for duration of the job, so choose someone with honesty and integrity.
