A study by the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) has found that the country’s road construction sector is plagued with corruption.
A huge amount of money is spent on building roads, but the ACC study states that investments made do not match the benefits expected of it.
Favoritism, bribery and abuse of privileged information are cited as some forms of corruption thriving in the sector.
Bid rigging is another corrupt practice plaguing the road projects. It is a form of fraud where a commercial contract is promised to a contractor, but for the sake of appearance, several other contractors also present bids.
The high prevalence of corruption in the road construction sector is being blamed on poor supervision and monitoring, dishonesty and lack of accountability. It was found that contractors acquire materials illegally and execute the contract without proper monitoring.
The study states the road construction projects are also challenged by undue influence from politicians and highly influential public officials, resulting in time and cost overruns.
Further, the study goes on to show how improper planning, ineffective coordination among agencies and lack of capacity development for engineers and contractors hinder the road sector in making its contributions proportionate to the budget allocated for it.
It is estimated that the road sector accounts for a loss of over Nu 78 m to GDP every year from 2010 to 2015.
To root out corruption in the road construction sector, the ACC recommends relevant agencies, such the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement (MoWHS) and Construction Development Board (CDB), to develop standard operating procedures for effective contract implementation, supervision and monitoring.
