National Construction Industry Council (NCIC) Chief Executive Officer, Gerald Khonje, has said that disasters resulting in building collapses and loss of life in the country could be mitigated with the implementation of a National Infrastructure Maintenance Strategy.

Khonje said this in Salima when addressing a consortium of journalists with a keen interest in construction issues.

“When you look at the recent cyclone Freddy, you would appreciate that some of the destruction could have been avoided if we had a scheme on how we ought to build and maintain structures that are due for maintenance,” Khonje said.

“We have a lot of infrastructure assets in the country, some of which are in a dilapidated state because they have not been maintained for a long time. We need a maintenance scheme for completed projects so that once a project is completed, it should enter a maintenance scheme to enable a periodic assessment of its state and any sort of defect that may develop.”

He highlighted that the strategy, which is being developed will also guide the country on the regular maintenance of roads, unlike the current case where the country waits for the road to be completely damaged and brings in a completely new one, which is costly.

Rose Kamera, vice chairperson of the consortium of journalists, commended the NCIC for its transparency and openness in sharing developments within the council regarding construction matters.

Kamera expressed the consortium’s commitment to delivering evidence-based reports and ensuring that the public benefits from informed journalism.

She stated, “As journalists, we are quite committed to ensuring that we practice evidence-based journalism so that the public is benefiting at the end of the day.”