Construction economists have been urged to obtain international certifications as means of playing their game in the global construction sector of the economy.
Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola made the call at the 7th Building and Construction Economic Roundtable (BCERT 7), held in Abuja.
Fashola, who was represented at the event by the Director, Quantity Surveying in the Ministry, Dickson Onoja, noted that globalisation had enhanced mobility of labour, stressing that the present administration was determined to encourage professionals to engage in globally competitiveness.
On his part the President, Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN), Mallam Murtala Aliyu urged members of the profession to key into global competitiveness and ensure best practice in terms of quality of their professional services by giving serious attention to standardisation, metrology, conformity assessment, certification and accreditation.
Aliyu observed that the role of quantity surveying in putting Nigeria on the cutting-edge of global competitiveness should be interrogated.He added that implicit in a globally competitive economy is the availability of massive employment opportunities especially for youths and very active population.
According to him, building and construction together with the real estate sector of the economy are amongst the most strategic sectors of any economy as their collective effect can be seen and felt in all activities sectors of all global economies.
Aliyu who decried the dismal performance of Nigeria in the 2016 – 2017 Global Competitiveness Index where it ranked 127 out of the 138 countries studied, stated that the focus of BCERT 7 is the on global competitiveness of Nigeria’s quantity surveying in driving national development.
“The interpretation is that, we are one of the least productive economies of the world. This surely calls for sober reflection. It shows the extent to which corruption has harmed and hurt Nigeria’s economy”, he added.
He argued that as laudable as the objectives of BCERT are, Sustainable economic development can be achieved through strict adherence to corporate governance, value for money principles, probity and accountability as a national ethos.
Aliyu observed that quantity surveying is a development profession because it is fundamentally underpinned on good governance, value-for-money, transparency, probity, accountability, anti-corruption and efficient allocation of resources without which there cannot be development on a sustainable basis.
