Women urged to venture into construction

Tanaka Nyambo

MINISTRY of National Housing and Social Amenities permanent secretary, Joy Makumbe, has encouraged women to participate in the construction industry and take on roles as contractors.

Speaking during the, Trading The Heels For Gumboots Women’s Desk programme, Makumbe hailed growing women’s involvement in the sector.

“Women must acknowledge and appreciate that they have the right to be where they are and who they are.

“Women can also be technical and good engineers.

“President Mnangagwa so much supports women and the mantra of leaving no one and no place behind is applicable to women in construction.

“I believe at this moment in time that there is no better place or time to be a woman than to be a woman in Zimbabwe,” he said.

The Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association (ZBCA) president, Petros Kagwere, said they had taken a deliberate stance to support the emancipation of women in construction, establishing a desk for women to become contractors and dominate in the male-dominated industry.

The industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors globally, and opportunities are available, with around 47 percent of employed people globally being women. The new refrain this season is “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo”, and the ZBCA wants women to take a leading role in achieving this.

“We are here to acknowledge and support the cause of women in construction.

“Men have been dominating construction, but there is no man who survives without the support of a woman.

“We have taken a deliberate stance as ZBCA to support the emancipation of women in construction by establishing a women’s desk to make it easy for them to become contractors and dominate.

“We encourage women to become contractors. Never look down upon yourselves thinking you cannot become a contractor,” he said.