Contractors need system overhaul to compete, masterbuilders association tells gov’t

The Incorporated Masterbuilders Association (IMAJ) of Jamaica has described Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness’ call for local contractors to invest in their firms to better compete for large-scale government projects as “timely”, but says the move will require enterprise-scale reform in procurement, payment, financing, and local participation policy.

In a statement released today, the IMAJ said the Prime Minister’s assessment that Jamaica’s housing deficit, and the wider infrastructure demands of national development, will not be met unless more local contractors are supported to operate at higher levels of scale, capitalisation, technology, and management capacity, is correct.

But it said accepting the challenge also requires naming the conditions that make meeting it possible.

“Local contractors cannot grow their balance sheets, invest in equipment, hire and train workers, and absorb projects of greater scale where payment timelines are uncertain, procurement timelines make planning difficult, variation claims remain unresolved for prolonged periods, and foreign competitors operate with financing and concessionary arrangements not available on equivalent terms to Jamaican private enterprise,” it said.

Holness made the comment last Friday while speaking at the National Housing Trust groundbreaking ceremony for the Galina housing development in St Mary.

“Jamaica needs a contracting class that is thinking at enterprise scale, that will put the resources into their business to acquire the technical skills and competencies to integrate the technology and to develop the balance sheet to support the kinds of capital works that the Government of Jamaica will be bringing to market,” Holness said while lamenting the fact that the Government’s capital expenditure budget often remains underspent.

The IMAJ, however, cautioned against what it said is a public narrative that treats project delays solely to contractors.

In addition to Jamaica’s issue with structure, speed, and discipline of the public works delivery system, it said delays often arise from scope changes, design finalisation, approvals, site conditions, variation processing, and other project-management issues within the wider delivery system.

“If those realities are not acknowledged, local contractors are unfairly blamed for systemic weaknesses, and the country discourages the very talent and investment it needs to build long-term construction capacity,” it said.

The IMAJ said it is therefore calling for the Government’s emerging contractor capacity policy to be developed in direct consultation with the organised construction industry, and to address specific areas.

These include a dedicated contractor enterprise capacity programme, delivered through the Development Bank of Jamaica or a structured partnership with housing development entities such as the NHT, which provides local firms with access to equipment financing, working capital support, bonding facility support, technical training, and management capacity building.

It also called for public sector procurement and project management must operate with the same discipline now being demanded of contractors. Agencies, it said, must be held to defined timelines for procurement decisions, certification of contractors’ invoices, processing of variations, and, importantly, payment of certified sums.

Further, it said foreign contractor participation in Jamaica must be governed by a transparent and enforceable local participation framework.

The IMAJ said it must be formally included in the development of any national policy intended to build local contractor capacity.

“A policy designed for the construction industry without the organised construction industry at the table will not adequately address the real constraints faced on the ground. IMAJ formally requests a seat in that process,” it said.

The organisation noted that these concerns were raised in its formal submission on the NaRRA bill, currently before Parliament.

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