Online Reporter
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association (ZBCA) has revealed that approximately 30 percent of contractors in the country’s southern region are operating informally.
In light of this, the association has urged these contractors to formalise their operations and comply with legal regulations.
This call comes as Zimbabwe’s economy witnesses a substantial construction boom, fuelled by heightened business activities and strategic initiatives from the Second Republic, aimed at promoting economic growth.
In an interview on the sidelines of ZBCA’s Southern Region workshop held on Wednesday in Bulawayo, the association’s chief executive officer, Mrs Joyline Zindaga, emphasised the importance of registration for informal contractors.
“Compared to other regions, from this end (southern region) it’s about 30 percent unregistered contractors. We want everyone to be registered and benefit from the opportunities that come with formalisation,” she said.
“Registration with bodies such as ZBCA as well as formalising with your National Social Security Authority (Nssa), Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Praz) and National Employment Council (NEC) for the construction industry, will help contractors to conduct their business formally and get benefits accrued by being registered.”
She said being registered also ensures contractors operate in an environment as responsible citizens and organisations.
Mrs Zindaga said procuring entities were more inclined to working with registered contractors who abide by Government laws in terms of paying their taxes as well as having the relevant safety and health certification.
“If you are compliant in your partaking and construction activities, getting tenders will be easy. Yes, competition is there, but as a registered contractor, you stand a better chance of acquiring and getting tenders unlike an unregistered contractor,” she said.
ZBCA past president and current member, Engineer Francis Mangwendeza, who is also Asphalt Products managing director, said formal contractors were easy to identify through categorisation.
“Formalisation allows you to have two things. First thing is that it passes you through a categorisation process so that your capacity is determined as to what you can and cannot do. For example, as a start-up, you cannot do 200 kilometres (km) of roadwork, maybe you can do a kilometre and grow as you go,” he said.
“Categorisation helps business people to be put in the right category so that they can undertake the necessary works.
Secondly, it also ensures that you are complaint with tax laws, safety laws and other registration processes that are required.”
He said categorisation allows businesses to contribute to their business growth as well as the national fiscus for economic growth.
Eng Mangwendeza said as an organisation (ZBCA) they were calling on Government to address registration challenges faced by contractors.
“We are trying to engage the Government to say we need a little less regulation, at the moment, there is one too many organisations and entities that we have to register with. We are aware that the Government is creating a one-stop shop for investors from outside and within as well.
“But we are finding it very difficult to make start-ups register formally because of the one too many processes. We need a less complicated way of registering start-ups to ensure all contractors get formalised,” he said.
Samson Bricks founder and managing director, Ms Victoria Gazi said the workshop was an eye opener for them as growing start-ups.
“We have learnt a lot on the importance of formalisation and being compliant in order to take our businesses to the next level. Such gatherings also assist in terms of financing for our businesses. Other than banks, what can be our other avenues to get funding?” she said.
Waterprint CEO, Engineer Mohorosi Makhurane said as a small to medium enterprise (SME) contractor, the benefits of registering with ZBCA is that it will be their go between them and Government in terms of challenges they are facing.
He said: “Also being registered ensures that we have access to tenders. There is need to collaborate with other registered contractors to improve our categorisation. Another benefit we learnt is that sometimes we subcontract for companies not registered and they end up not paying us, being part of ZBCA will ensure we get assistance as SME contractors so that our issues are resolved.”
