Accra, Aug. 3, GNA - The Association of Building and Civil Engineeri= ng Contractors (ABCEC) is pushing for the establishment of an independent regulatory body to supervise the activities of building and civil engineers= .. This body would enable contractors and clients, be it government or private business or individual, who feel unfairly treated to seek redress from the authority. Mr Rockson Kwesi Dogbegah, Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Association, who made this known at the launch of the maiden National Building and Civil Contractors Excellence awards, said the move would bring sanity into the system.

"We are pursuing a strong advocacy for the setting up of a regulator for the industry. We believe that we need an independent body similar to th= e Public Utility Regulatory Commission, which will regulate the industry," he said. Touching on the Excellence awards, which was aimed at encouraging loca= l contractors to aspire for excellence, Mr Dogbegah said it was opened to all local contractors and not only members of the Association. The awards slated for December 9 in Accra will have contractors submit entries in 14 categories with the overall winner being crowned National Building Contractor of the Year.

Some of the categories to compete for include: Outstanding quality and workmanship, Outstanding time and site management, Outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility (Local and Foreign Category). There will also be awards for the Best Timely Paying Client and the Best Consultant.

Mr Dogbegah said the Association had decided to limit the awards to local contractors who were often accused of doing shoddy jobs and also because the foreign contractors had the capacity that would make the playin= g field uneven.

The foreign contractors would, however be allowed to compete for the award of outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility (Foreign category). He said an independent body had developed the criteria and another bod= y would supervise the procedure to ensure transparency and fairness. Mr Dogbegah said to enhance the capacity of the local contractors, the Association had begun a regular capacity building programme to sharpen the skills of members to enhance professionalism in the execution of projects. He said the Association was determined to reverse the public perceptio= n that local contractors only did shoddy and poor quality jobs.