By CHARLES SIMENGWA –

INFRASTRUCTURE development has for long been touted as the driving force for Africa’s development, and many countries on the continent, Zambia included, are re-directing most of their resources into lifting this important sector.
Like many developing countries in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, much has been done over the past decades to ramp up investments in infrastructural projects, although there are some gaps which some industry players are now seeking to close up and, thus, promote orderly growth.
Some shoddy road construction projects, poor building designs and questionable procurement processes are some of the sticking points in infrastructure development which have necessitated increased calls for capacity building in the sector.
The decisions to invest in specific major infrastructural projects have been quite often well intended as good quality infrastructure is a key factor in sustainable development.
Efficient transport, sanitation, energy and communication systems are critically needed if Africa is to prosper and provide an acceptable standard of living for its citizens.
However, most African countries do not have the right infrastructure which can promote their growth and ability to trade in the global economy.
Some important questions to consider should perhaps be on the existing barriers to realising maximum benefits from infrastructure investments which have been undertaken in the past years.
Considering the past decades of infrastructural development on the continent, how can African governments ensure maximum social and economic benefits for its citizens from major infrastructure investments?
There have been debates around how the procurement strategies could be transformed to maximise on infrastructure investment, just like solutions should be found to the question on how planning and implementation of infrastructural projects should be transformed.
While individual governments on the continent are exploring ways to place infrastructure development on the upper rung of their ladders of national priorities, there is a similarly important aspect on the role continental and regional integration could play for Africa to fully benefit from infrastructural investment.
African countries have sometimes been mired in controversies on whether training of built environment professionals is appropriate and adequate and if not, how it should be transformed to be able to meet the current challenges.
These are some of the issues earmarked for discussion during the International Conference on Infrastructure Development and Investment Strategies for Africa taking place in Livingstone from today until tomorrow.
Co-chairperson Innocent Musonda says the meeting, dubbed the DII-2014 conference, would seek to provide an international forum where leaders, engineers, researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders in infrastructure development, and the general built environment, could discuss and evaluate the impact of infrastructure spend on Africa.
“More importantly, however, the conference will explore new ways of infrastructure investment and development in order to maximise benefits from infrastructure spend.
“Outcomes from the conference should be able to inform policy direction in Africa,” said Dr Musonda, a senior lecturer in the department of construction management and quantity surveying at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.
Dr Musonda said the conference, at Chrismar Hotel in Zambia’s tourist capital, would be officially opened by Transport, Works, Supply and Communications Minister, Yamfwa Mukanga.
The DII-2014 conference bodes well for Zambia, which will celebrate 50 years of independence on October 24, this year, and has been placing emphasis on increased and improved infrastructure as the cornerstone of its development.
Some conference keynotes from built environment experts include National Roads Fund Agency chief executive officer (CEO) Anthony Mwanaumo, Snowy Khoza, who is Bigen Africa CEO based in South Africa, Ndilila and Associates CEO Francis Ndilila, and Rockson Dogbegah, the founder and chairperson of Berock Ventures in Ghana.
Other keynotes would be John Smallwood, a professor of construction management in South Africa, National Council for Construction executive director, Charles Mushota, Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) Africa president Alfred Talukhaba, and Zesco Limited managing director Cyprian Chitundu.
Dr Musonda, whose co-chairperson is Dr Erastus Mwanaumo from the University of Zambia, said there would also be more than 30 peer reviewed industry and academic papers from international and Zambian built environment professionals.
The key feature of the conference, organised by the University of Zambia, Copperbelt University and the University of Johannesburg, and sponsored by the National Council for Construction, is a panel discussion on 50 years of infrastructure programmes in Zambia and Africa as a whole.
Some of the conference topics would include infrastructural development and finance, environment, safety and health considerations in infrastructural development, regenerative sustainability, appropriate construction technology, and value engineering.
Others would be skills development, transfer and empowerment, construction procurement, appropriate design and development, sustainable development, infrastructure delivery and investment returns, and integrative infrastructure development planning.
Apart from other segments, the DII-2014 would be a crucial information sharing platform for small-scale contractors in the Zambian construction industry who would either be introduced to or reminded about business management as a survival strategy.
Information and communication technology-supported inventory management as a tool for improving cost control in the Zambian construction industry will be tackled, just like the crucial role of health and safety management practices will be addressed.
With the rich range of topics to be delivered by a team of well-assembled facilitators, there is no doubt that the DII-2014 will hoist good quality infrastructure as the real driver of sustainable development.