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Defense Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Raychelle Omamo on Tuesday, 15th January officially opened the Procurement of Works and Construction Management Workshop organized by the National Construction Authority at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies, Nairobi.
Defense Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Raychelle Omamo on Tuesday, 15th January officially opened the Procurement of Works and Construction Management Workshop organized by the National Construction Authority at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies, Nairobi.
Amb. Omamo, accompanied by Defense Principal Secretary Torome Saitoti, lauded the workshop as a welcome platform for inter-agency knowledge sharing. “This training was necessitated in part by concerns raised by President Uhuru Kenyatta over lowered quality of works. We decided to engage NCA, the industry regulator, in order to raise the standards of construction,” she said.
The CS hoped that the event would end with a lot of added value and stated that she would personally monitor the progress. “We want to ensure all our systems and procurement processes are efficient and transparent, so that we can maintain the integrity of the Ministry of Defense. We are ready to identify whichever gaps and bottlenecks are in existence in order to eliminate them.” She continued, “Soldiers lay down their lives for our people, and we are obligated to offer them the best quality of service that we can.”
NCA Acting Executive Director Eng. Maurice Akech appreciated the Ministry’s efforts towards building the capacity of their staff. “We are cognizant of the fact that without training there is no professional development, there is no growth, and there is no economic gain. Our training programmes are holistic: our curriculum targets every stage of the construction life cycle, from preparation of contract bids, management of plant and equipment, procurement, quality assurance to project management.”
He noted that a partnership between NCA and the Ministry of Defense, a major developer of construction projects across the country, will be of great benefit. “Today marks the beginning of continuous collaborative efforts between the Authority and the Ministry. Beyond today’s training, NCA would be happy to assist you with project registration and quality assurance to ensure that you are in full compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. Such a partnership would undoubtedly be key to our nation’s development.”
Major General Fatuma Ahmed, Kenya’s first female Major General, was in attendance. The two day workshop ends on Wednesday, 16th January.
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