African governments have been tasked to help reduce poverty by prioritizing issues in the construction industry.

Rockson Dogbegah, Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Building OB West Africa and Centre Chair of CIOB Ghana, who made the call, said a well-resourced construction industry will not only offer employment to several thousands of unemployed youth but create a serene atmosphere to boost other economic activities.

He said African governments could employ numerous strategies and mechanisms to ensure that the construction industry delivers effectively and adhere to international standards.

He also opined that many reports of building collapse and disasters could be avoided if African governments position the construction industry strategically.

Speaking at the 43rd Annual National Conference and General Meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Building in Abuja Nigeria, Mr Dogbegah said there was the need for governments to realize that the construction industry could be developed properly through the establishment of an industry Development Board.

He said countries like South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi, among others, took the bold step of setting up this body and are currently reaping the benefits.

“Such a board should be well-resourced to deal with issues such as human resource capacity development, institutional framework which has a database on the contractors’ capacity to deal with multiple projects and register contractors not only for the government sector but also for the entire country.

“Its mandate should also enable it to deregister contractors, effectively evaluate and monitor the performance of contractors working on government and public projects and serve as a bridge between government and policy makers.” He said perceptions about the industry were negative.

This, he noted, will only escalate sub-standard and shoddy works, stressing that non-construction players are not bothered about standards.

Mr Dogbegah therefore urged both African governments and his colleague built environment professionals to emulate the examples of countries like Singapore and Malaysia, which learnt valuable lessons from building disasters and have been able to grow their construction industries positively since that time.