Abstract
Mozambique was a Portuguese province governed in terms of Portuguese legislation and principles. After the Mozambican independence in June 1975, and during the decade thereafter, all Portuguese legislation were re-evaluated and replaced by new legislation based on socialist/communist philosophies, ultimately culminating in a centralised economy, which was governed according to Marxism/Leninism principles. In terms of this maxim, the primary objectives was to favour and protect state owned companies, resulting in the nationalisation of almost all of the private sector, thus eradicating competitiveness among the economic operators, and leaving the country to become one of the poorest in the world.
The implemented political philosophy and associated economic principles furthermore impacted so adversely on the economy that critical changes were required to save the economy from collapse. New economic and political reforms and directives were introduced, moving the country from a socialist orientation to an open economy, a process that was implemented with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. This process was highly complex and arduous, culminating in more often than not, failed implementations in the various sectors of the economy. One such sector, the Construction Engineering Industry is faced with collapse as a result of the complexities of the transition process.
Against this background, ‘corrective’ economic legislation aimed to restructure the economy, was designed and implemented, only to result in high taxes and duties being paid by private companies. The present decline in foreign direct investment in the Construction Engineering Industry due to the current social and political uncertainty is of particular concern. More specific, the high interest bank rates on loans, the high duty rates for construction materials to be imported, the current judicial system which is viewed as ineffective in solving complex problems involving the industry, unfair labour laws which protect unproductive workers, and the high levels of bureaucracy, are all factors impacting adversely on any management effort to ensure the sustainability and growth of the Construction Engineering Industry in Mozambique.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) was constituted with the aim of creating an integrated and harmonious development strategy for each of its member countries, due to the fact that each country has its own culture, political dispensation, judicial system, labour laws and economic and fiscal structures. As the Construction Engineering Industries within each SADC country, by implication are subjected to differentiated operating environments and unique complexities, the solution as proposed by the SADC has the potential to culminate in a feasible option for the industry as a whole. For the Construction Engineering Industry of Mozambique however, the proposed solution of the SADC would not serve as a viable or feasible solution. This is due to the fact that the Construction Engineering Industry in Mozambique is not stable and close to collapse as a result of the plethora of inhibiting factors adversely impacting the industry. Against this background the research problem for this thesis reads as follow:
“The Construction Engineering Industry in Mozambique is operating within the context of an unstructured complex management paradigm, calling for an evolutionary solution to mitigate the complexities and ensure sustainability and growth”
The primary objective of this thesis is to establish to what extent an evolutionary systems approach model could facilitate paradigmatic change in the management of construction engineering in Mozambique to ensure its sustainability and growth. This objective will be met through:
An in depth analysis of the complex phenomena pertaining to the construction engineering industry in Mozambique deploying the enquiry capabilities of the Biomatrix Systems Approach.
Benchmarking the operating environments of the Construction Engineering Industries of South Africa and Mozambique.
The formulation of an evolutionary, unique viable approach so structured to address the complexity associated with construction engineering in Mozambique. This evolutionary approach will be fundamentally based on the Systems Approach and associated Viable Systems Model, juxtaposed with this authors’ own contribution, to ultimately facilitate paradigmatic change in the Mozambican Construction Engineering Industry to mitigate the research problem set for this thesis.
Prof. Dr. L. Pretorius
Prof. Dr. J.A. Watkins