ENGINEERING Institution of Zambia (EIZ) vice-president for finance and administration Abel Ng’andu says about 80 to 90 per cent of government construction works are given to foreign contractors and not local firms.

Speaking on the sidelines of an EIZ business meeting held in Kitwe on Tuesday, Ng’andu, also the proprietor of Ng’andu Consulting Limited, said local engineers were not incapable of executing some government projects as all they needed was mentorship in skills development.

“Right now, about 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the money government is putting in the construction sector just goes to foreign contractors. But we need to retain this money in our economy for us to achieve sustainable economic growth,” Ng’andu said.

He said local engineers needed to position themselves for government construction projects by further developing their skills.
“The skills gap has continued to disadvantage our local engineers from getting some jobs in the construction industry. We have serious crisis inthe area of skills development. What we need is serious mentorship so that these engineers can be able to undertake most of the construction projects being implemented by government such as schools, stadiums and other infrastructure,” said Ng’andu.