<<Print>>

The deadline for the submission of forms for the National Building and Civil Contractors Excellence Awards has been extended by two weeks. The decision, at the request of building contractors, is to enable them complete the entry forms in order to compete for the awards. The excellence awards were formally launched some two weeks ago and the deadline for submission was October 26. However, the contractors say due to the comprehensive nature of the entry forms they will require additional time to prepare the accompanying documents. The Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Association of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors of Ghana (ABCECG), Rockson Dogbegah who disclosed the extension of the deadline, admitted that filling in the 21-page entry forms requires a lot of time and work. He mentioned that contractors are required to submit a lot of documents and get endorsements from consultants who worked with them on the various projects, adding that �the Criteria Development Committee deem it fair to extend the deadline.� The first-ever excellence awards for the building construction industry is part of the efforts being made by ABCECG to discourage shoddy work and encourage excellence, particularly among Ghanaian contractors. He said the selection criteria were thorough so as to ensure that the entire process is free and fair. He emphasised the need to ensure a very honest and transparent process in arriving at the winners. �If we are pushing for excellence, then the selection criteria itself must be excellent - and we are not compromising on that!� Mr. Dogbegah said the awards slated for December promise to be a great event that will be truly national in character, as several activities will be rolled-out to gain the attention and participation of the general public. He urged the building contractors who are yet to pick up forms to rush and do so, because a big celebration awaits them in December. �There will be no better platform than what will happen in December to market yourself as a contractor; so if you stay out, you will miss out,� the Technical Committee Chairman added. The National Building and Civil Contractors Excellence Awards are being organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing and will be held at the Banquet hall of the State House. A delegation of contractors from South Africa will be part of this event come December 8 this year.