By 
By Delisa Thwala
The Construction Industry Council (CIC) of Eswatini has registered over 1000 contractors valued at E 5 836 390 795 billion for the year 2023/2024.
This was revealed by Registration and Grading Analyst, Lomalungelo Dlamini. She highlighted this commitment during the construction good compliance practices Indaba at Happy Valley Hotel. It aimed to address the numerous challenges facing the construction sector.
Dlamini revealed that the CIC’s total income was E20.5 million, a 53% increase from the previous year. The surplus for the year was E5.8 million, compared to a loss of E1.6 million in 2019/2020.
“The CIC registered 1,480 contractors and 926 projects valued at E3.6 billion. From April to September 2024 the council registered 1,389 new contractors and 215 projects worth a total of E664 million,” said Dlamini.
In addition, she further said the CIC has also reported a significant increase in contractor registrations and project values in the current financial year.
Since the Council has registered a total of 215 projects with a value of E664,848,998 in the current financial year (April – Sept 2024) it has been deemed that local participation is valued at 98% amounting to E654 087 659.
“Foreign participation is valued at 2% with the value of E10 761 339. Since the beginning of the current financial year, the Council has registered a total of 1389 contractors.
These include general and specialist works contractors, consultancy practices, manufacturers and suppliers, individual artisans, and joint ventures,’’ stated Dlamini.
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In hindsight comparing these figures to previous years, the trend is clear. In 2022/23, the council registered 1 480 contractors and 926 projects valued at E3.6 billion. In 2023/24, the figures were 1,639 registrations and 721 projects valued at E5.8 billion.
The council anticipated that the number of registrations would continue to rise by the end of the current financial year.
On another note, the Council has been faced with a number of complaints with regard to fraudulent CIC certificates submitted when tendering.
Project owners, especially those in the residential sector, have reported a surge in complaints about substandard workmanship delivered by contractors.
This not only damaged the industry’s credibility but also endangered the lives of Eswatini citizens.
A key factor in uncovering these fraudulent activities had been the involvement of whistleblowers, often competitors who recognise the potential harm caused by such dishonest practices
These individuals played a crucial role in safeguarding the integrity of the construction industry.
Fraudulent contractors often resort to deceptive tactics, such as last-minute registration with the CIC, forging certificates entirely, or altering existing certificates to replace names and grades.
They manipulate physical copies of legitimate certificates by altering the name and grade information to reflect their own details. However, when these altered certificates are scanned, the barcode reveals the original owner of the certificate, exposing the fraudulent act,” she explained.
Dlamini said this has been picked when project owners call the Council to vet contractors who respond to their tenders. Some have been revealed by whistle-blowers or their competitors.
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“There is an emerging number of complaints from project owners mainly residential about the shoddy jobs some contractors deliver. This impacts badly on the reputation of the Council and the industry as a whole. It is also hazardous to the lives of Emaswati,’’ said Dlamini in her report.
To curb the risk of fraudulent certificates, the Council has introduced quick response (QR) coded contractor registration certificates.
This is a machine-readable barcode that contains information about the contractor to which it is attached.
When the barcode is scanned, it validates all the information about the contractor on the certificate. This limits the forging of certificates.
