Quantity Surveyors Advised to Apply Legal Framework in Executing Contracts
Bennett Oghifo
Practicing Quantity Surveyors have been advised to apply the nation’s legal guidelines in executing contracts to avoid complications.
They were also enjoined to improve their skills to enable them compete internationally and to apply global best practice and standards for better service delivery.
President, Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, QS Michael Shonubi gave the advice during a two-day national workshop for quantity surveyors in the country, which took place in Abuja, recently. The theme of the conference was: ‘Construction Contracts Claims; Evaluation Presentation and Analysis’. Over 400 members attended the conference and 84 new members were inducted.
The federal government was also urged to strengthen existing laws on construction to capture issues that may arise from contract claims by various parties.
The two-day workshop was designed to upgrade the skills of Quantity Surveyors and for them to learn modern techniques in the construction industry. They also discussed poor planning and management of contracts by some of its members, use of quacks, persistent insecurity in the country, as well as high cost of building materials, and they agreed that these issues must be addressed to enable professionals and the nation compete internationally.
The NIQS president, Shonubi, represented by the Deputy President, Qs Kene Nzekwe, said: “Before now, we had carried out a survey amongst our members on the areas they would want us to upskill their capacity and this was one of the areas indicated interest.
“Everything has gone up, particularly with what is happening in Russia and Ukraine, prices all over the world have gone up, including the dollar that we thought won’t depreciate.
“So, that also has a direct impact on the construction industry, and on people who are players in the construction industry; the contractors, the clients need to upscale their capacity so that at the end of the day, anyone who suffers damage, can get some kind of compensation when all the issues are put on the table, and that is what this workshop is intended to achieve.”
He said the workshop would ensure that the NIQS equipped its “members with appropriate skills that would assist them in quality service delivery to their employers and contractors.
“This workshop will open up to where our members can build their confidence and be able to lend quality advice to both the clients and the contractor on issues that have to do with claims.”
Those claims include damages that occurred during the course of contracts, he said. “They may not be included in the file of the contract documents but they are deemed to the image of the contract which the parties can agree and at the end of the day there will be compensation.”
Discussing legal issues, particularly claims, Qs Bukola Aluko-Olokun, who is also a lawyer, said “there are different categories of claims, which most quantity surveyors are not aware of. There are claims within the contract and outside the contract. It depends on where the benefit lies for a party.”
Aluko-Olokun said there are silent clauses that the participants would be taught to identify, “because there are clauses that are very silent. They’re not even aware that they exist.
“A thorough understanding of these contract conditions will enable quantity surveyors to defend a contractor/consultant as appropriate, where it is possible and then be able to use these conditions as a weapon to stand firm within the industry.
“Some of our duties have been taken over by the engineers. We are supposed to administer these contracts. The contracts emanate from our offices, so we should have a thorough understanding of what it actually entails so that we can be able to interpret them when the time arises.”
