TANZANIA: TANZANIA’S consulting engineer Sayed Rizwan Qa- dri has secured a two-year tenure as President of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) Africa Region re- placing South Africa’s Eng Abe Thela, whose term has ended.
But, what does this mean to Africa and Tanza- nia in particular? In quick analysis, FIDIC Africa represents the inter- est of the industry in the African region, and sup- ports FIDIC activities at the national and regional level.
The group also organises the annual FIDIC Africa Con- ference, the major event or- ganised for networking and capacity building in the con- sulting engineering sector in Africa In his raise to the posi- tion, he will use his influ- ence in the FIDIC contracts as used by construction companies around the world to standardise local con- tracts and avoid some of the biggest pitfalls.
In Tanza- nia this will be a leverage to maintain a collection of contract templates that com- panies can use and modify to fit their needs. In the construction in- dustry, this means that the companies, investors, archi- tects, surveyors, and others involved in any construction project are protected from third parties with fraudulent claims. The laws that cover these contracts help keep the project alive and mov- ing forward.
There are many important details that go into these contracts; one of the most important is the ti- tle or deed issue.
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If the other party does not honor their end of the bargain, then le- gal consequences are sure to follow. The primary purpose of a FIDIC contract is to help keep the public’s interest in mind when dealing with construction projects that involve home construction and ownership.
These con- tracts are also used to help with title issues and prevent any potential problems with legal ownership and con- tract disputes. These contracts have been known to be used in any type of construction project and can be beneficial in the long run.
The title is- sue in the construction busi- ness has always been one of the biggest stumbling blocks for home construction and investors. However, through the years, it has been made much more secure, and the result has been the increase of construction activity around the country.
Eng. Rizwan is the Managing Director of Riz Consulting based in Dar es Salaam and has 36 years ex- perience in project and con- tract management, multi- disciplinary coordination, civil and structural design, site supervision and geo- technical investigations.
His appointment came on the sidelines of the 30th FIDIC Africa Infrastructure Conference held in Dar es Salaam recently under the theme “Innovations and In- frastructure Development for Sustainable Projects” that brought together 800 engineering stakeholders from Tanzania and other foreign countries and was graced by the Vice President Dr. Philip Mpango as well as Kenyan lawyer and activ- ist Prof PLO Lumumba.
The Annual FIDIC Af- rica Infrastructure Confer- ence is one of the biggest networking events for the African construction indus- try and provides a forum for consulting engineers, Public officials from all spheres of government Central, Local, State owned entities, fund- ing agencies, contractors, suppliers of construction equipment and materials, investors, and other stake- holders in the construction industry from the public and private sectors to share ideas on best practices and sus- tainability as per the United Nations SDG 9.
President of Association of Consulting Engineers Tanzania (ACET) Eng. Chedi Masambaji during his inauguration speech said the theme of the 30th FIDIC Africa Infrastructure Con- ference was timely and criti- cal, considering the growing need for sustainable infra- structure solutions across Africa.
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“The conference ex- plored various sub-themes, each addressing different aspects of sustainable infra- structure development. Var- ious papers were presented by experts in their fields who shared some of the lat- est developments and state of the art in engineering fields. The participants ben- efited greatly by being made aware of various innovative developments, research and new developments in the en- gineering industry,” he said.
The Conference also had a Future Leaders Forum that attracted over 250 young engineers of the age below 40years.
The theme of the Forum provided for engag- ing their ability to innovate, provide mitigating mea- sures and solutions to the construction industry, en- vironmental issues and fur- ther their career aspirations through certified training at global level.
