Regional initiatives generate more sustainable industries
[full item: 60Pr]
In speaking to the annual conference of FIDIC Group of African Member Associations (GAMA; Kampala, 14-17 March 2005), Richard Kell, FIDIC President, reminded participants that a nation's private sector consulting engineering industry represents a sustainable resource which makes a significant contribution to wealth and stability. Experience elsewhere showed that regional networking which capitalises on regional synergies made national industries more sustainable. With the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) as the catalysts, African consulting engineering is poised for a significant leap forward, and capable of developing the keystones to the future, namely quality, integrity and sustainability. FIDIC and its regional groupings create networking and alliancing opportunities, and benefit from speaking with one voice. It was therefore appropriate and timely that these opportunities be discussed at events such as the GAMA annual conference.
The President also recalled that FIDIC was committed to building a consulting engineering industry in every country, and has developed appropriate policies. However, action must be coordinated between national governments, funding agencies, investors and international and local firms. See FIDIC.org/GAMA for reports of the conference and the GAMA General Assembly. The President also contributed to a GAMA training workshop on risk management and value-added consulting before visiting Member Associations in Kenya and Tanzania.
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ACEA-Australia PI insurance campaign successful
[full item: 61Pr]
A front page article titled "Law firms hit by tort reforms" in the 28 January 2005 issue of The Australian Financial Review, Australia's leading daily financial newspaper, brought music to the ears of consulting engineers. It said: "Changes to the (Australian) state and federal legal system to ease the crisis in the insurance industry have led to a massive decline in the number of cases being fought in the courts. .... The biggest drop was in New South Wales, the nation's litigation capital, where District Court claims have fallen by 60 per cent, or 12,600 cases, while civil claims in the Magistrates Court have fallen by 13.4 per cent, or 30,500 cases."
Well done Therese Charles (see photo), Chief Executive, ACEA-Australia, and the ACEA team who played a leading role in the campaign to change the legal system (for details, see www.acea.co.au). ACEA now has to continue the fight, this time with insurers, as it is "disappointed that there had not been substantial reduction in professional indemnity premiums, particularly for smaller firms."
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Bank stresses the need for efficient procurement
[full item: 38De]
Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials indicated to a FIDIC delegation during a recent visit to its headquarters in Manila that project implementation is often unnecessarily long and bureaucratic, thereby delaying the supply of vital infrastructure. The bank plans to streamline procurement procedures and develop programmes to enhance the capacity of borrowers. FIDIC will be invited to comment on the new procedures, and welcomes the opportunity to do so. The FIDIC delegation comprised Richard Kell, FIDIC President, Dr Jorge Diaz Padilla, President-Elect, Dr Yumio Iishi, Executive Committee member, and Kok King Min, immediate past-chair of FIDIC's ASPAC Asia-Pacific group of Member Associations.
FIDIC's Business Integrity Management System (BIMS) is gaining increased recognition with the bank, to the point that the acknowledgement of a firm's BIMS in consultant selection is becoming more likely. Other developments included adoption of new guidelines for consultant selection and for sanctioning firms, and progress towards harmonisation between the multilateral development banks of the debarment and the cross-debarment of firms. Robert Robertson, Director, ADB Consulting Services Division, described most of these developments in his presentation at BIMILACI'05 (Washington DC, 7-8 April 2005; see FIDIC.org/bimilaci). Finally, ADB involvement in post-Tsunami reconstruction will follow publication of national reconstruction strategies. The ADB has established a USD 600 million Tsunami Fund and redirected a further USD 175 million, see ADB.org/tsunami.
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Contracts course
Jamaica Info
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Contracts course
Brussels Info
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Contracts workshop
Info
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FIDIC's HIV/AIDS prevention provisions have been adopted
by the Department of Works, Papua New Guinea, for inclusion in the
contract documents for AusAID funded road maintenance projects. The provisions are based on best practice in Africa, and are
practical and easy to incorporate, with little interpretation for normal
contracts. They comprise: a clause for inclusion in the Particular Conditions; standard specification clauses; Bill of Quantities items; Contractor's Compliance Certificate. The provisions form part of the FIDIC Policy Statement HIV/AIDS in the construction sector available at 
The visit by Richard Kell, FIDIC President, to East Africa for the FIDIC Group of African Member Associations (GAMA) annual conference included participation in a seminar in Nairobi that reviewed progress on Kenya's anti-corruption strategy. This event came only two days after the release at