NAN-H-93
Building
By Uche Bibilari
Abuja, Oct. 19, 2016 (NAN) The Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), has said that the major challenge being faced in the building industry is the menace of quacks.
Dr Peter Kuroshi, CORBON Registrar said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
“We have a major challenge in the industry, and that challenge is the menace of quacks; quackery is a big problem that we have been trying as hard as we could to address.
“For instance, if someone is a trained professional, not registered and licensed by CORBON but is involved in building production management, we consider such a person as a quack,’’ he said.
He said that quackery had been responsible for many of the substandard buildings recorded so far, adding that quite a number of collapsed buildings were constructed by quacks.
Kuroshi, however, explained that quacks could be involved in the planning or designing of a building.
“But the area where quackery could be more prevalent is at the production stage of a building project,’’ he said.
He called on trained professionals to register and obtain licence to practice freely in the industry, adding that offenders would be penalised.
He said a builder was solely responsible for the production of buildings and must rely on the input from designers such as architects for architectural drawings and specifications, engineers and quantity surveyors for bill of quantities.
The registrar said that builder also relied on inputs from town planners for land use information and analysis.
Kuroshi explained that in addition to the information from other professionals, the builder could also generate his project quality management and safety plan as well as construction programming.
The registrar said further that the content of a builder’s document was based on the input received from the other professionals.
“All of these are what help the builder to put up the building as required by the client because whatever you see professionals doing represent the needs and expectations of the client.’’
He said the council is regulating the practice of building to prevent shortcomings in the industry.
The registrar said the council had plans in place to properly execute its mandate at the starting point through its training stage.
According to him, just like any other regulatory body, CORBON accredits building programmes in the universities and polytechnics with certificates in HND building and BSc in building respectively.
He said no institution was expected to run a training programme without obtaining CORBON’s accreditation.
“We visit institutions and usually there is full and interim accreditation but all institutions aspire to get full accreditation.
“That is the starting point, we ensure that the right standards are established in the training.
“Candidates for CORBON registration and licensing are supposed to have HND or BSc certificate in building as a minimum qualification,’’ he said. (NAN)
UU/MO/AFA
Edited by Morayo Omolade/Felix Ajide
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