J. Service Science & Management, 2009, 2: 353-361
doi:10.4236/jssm.2009.24042 Published Online December 2009 (www.SciRP.org/journal/jssm)
353
Problems Facing Small and Medium Size Contractors in
Swaziland
Wellington Didibhuku Thwala1, Mpendulo Mvubu2
1Department of Quantity Surveying and Construction Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa;
2Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Em ail: [e-mail]
Received June 20, 2009; revised August 1, 2009; accepted September 19, 2009.
ABSTRACT
The paper explores the problems facing Small and Medium Size Contractors in Swaziland. The construction sector in
Swaziland is not only a significant source of direct employment but also a sector which contributes, through its wide
range of projects and operations. The paper will also look at the current government initiatives that had been put in
place to address the challenges and problems in order to ensure that contractors are successful. There is a high failure
rate among small and medium size contractors in Swaziland. These contractors fail for a variety of reasons ranging
from lack of adequate capacity to hand le the uniqueness, complexity and risks in contracting , lack of effective manage-
ment, lack of business management, poor record keeping and inadequate technical, financial and contract managerial
skills. Drawing on research on small and medium size contractors, the paper used both secondary and primary litera-
ture. 100 questionna ires were distributed to different role players in the con struction secto r in Swaziland . The response
rate was eighty seven (87) percent. The paper reveals that the most problems facing small and medium size contractors
in Swaziland is lack of access to finance and late payment by government. The paper closes with recommendations and
key lessons for the future.
Keywords: Contractor, Construction, Employment, Small and Medium Size, Public Works
1. Introduction
In Swaziland and other countries there seem a general
consensus that small enterprises are the mainstay of eco-
nomic growth and prosperity. Small contractors can be
powerful instruments of generating job opportunities;
small contractors can perform small projects at different
and remote geographical locations that might be unat-
tractive to big firms or too costly using the big firms; low
overheads enable small contractors to work at more
competitive prices; large number of functional small and
medium scale black contractors can help to decentralise
the construction industry dominated by established large
contractors; the relatively low skills and resources re-
quired at this scale can easily lower the entry point for
the small and medium size owners to begin to participate
in the industry; and a large number of functional Swazi
owned contractors can develop a platform for growth and
redistribution of wealth in Swaziland. Small and Medium
Size contractors in Swaziland are defined as those con-
tractors who do work up to E20 millio n (Exchange Rate:
$1 = E8). At a time when the public sector and big busi-
ness are shedding jobs, small businesses are maintaining
real employment growth. The small contractor develop-
ment programme falls under the Ministry of Public
Works and Transport. The main mandate of the ministry
is to ensure the provision and maintenance of a sustain-
able public infrastructure, an efficient and effective
seamless transport system and network, regulation for a
vibrant construction and transport industry, management
of public service accommodation and the provision of
meteorological services [1].
2. Research Objectives
The main objective of this paper is to outline the prob-
lems faced by small and medium size contractors in the
Kingdom of Swaziland.
2.1 Review of South African Literature
2.1.1 Skill Development in the Construction Industry
Historically, the construction industry has largely relied
on a core of highly skilled staff (generally white and of-
ten expatriate) to supervise a largely semi-skilled and
unskilled workforce (generally black). The decline in
demand for construction products over the past decades,
and associated uncertainty, has seen a reduction in skills

Problems Facing Small and Medium Size Contractors in Swaziland 354
training since the 1980s, and the closing down of indus-
try training institution s in the 1990s. It has been reported
that only about 70 percent of the available training ca-
pacity is currently being utilized [2]. Skills enhancement
in the construction industry faces a very particular chal-
lenge since the construction sector employs the fourth
highest number of persons having no formal education –
after agriculture, households and mining. Industry has
expressed a view that skills supplied to the market
through the Further Education and Training (FET) sys-
tem were in many cases not appropriate to their needs,
resulting in a skills gap. While industry-based training is
seen as better aligned with company-specific require-
ments, South African Qualification Authority (SAQA)
does not accredit some trainers, and some do not issue
certificates for training and employment. This tendency
limits mobility and career path prospects [2].
The important note was to recognize the improvement
of the work skills of all South Africans, which is critical
to grow the national economy. The Skills Development
Act (SDA) was promulgated to create the structures and
framework for the national development strategy. In
terms of the SDA employers are obliged to provide for-
mal structured education to their workers, hence in the
problem statement one looks at the possibilities of the
employed trained people by Group Five being given the
opportunity to further their training.
Furthermore, the act encourages partnership in this ef-
fect between government, employers, workers, education
and training providers, and beneficiary co mmunities. The
trained people are the beneficiaries from the community.
According to SDA, the needs of employers, the economy
and the communities must dictate which skills develop-
ment should be developed. The part of which skills
should be develop ed lead one to the last objectives in th e
problem statement to try to iden tify which skills are often
needed in different trades and provinces.
The SDA covers structured, targeted and generic
training implying that all training interven tions should be
planned and managed as projects that is the reason why
Group Five has “people at the gate” which is Corporate
Social Investment Project. In SDA, employers together
with their workers formulate workplace skills plan (WSP)
to enable them to realize their employment training tar-
gets. All designated employers pay a monthly skills de-
velopment levy of 1% of their budgeted payrolls to the
National Skills Fund (NFS), via South African Revenue
services (SARS). Of this amount, the employer can claim
back 70% in the form of discretionary grant, provided
that they submit WSP and Implementation Report (IR)
annually and conduct special training projects.
These levies finance the implementation of the Na-
tional Skills Development Strategy (NSDS). Construc-
tion Education and training Authorities (CETA) receives
10% of the skills levies paid by construction employers
for administration costs, NSF receives 20%, and 70% is
available to be claimed back by these contributing em-
ployers. However, international trends shows that com-
panies need to spend between 4% and 7% in order to be
successful in addressing the current shortages and gaps
[3]. Furthermore, there appears to be over-reliance of a
number of levels in the micro and provincial economy on
the SETA’s as being responsible bodies for coordinating
the identification of scare skills in South Africa.
2.2 Small Contractors in South Africa
In South Africa, the contractors enter the market at the
lower end and in the general building contracting cate-
gory, making the sector extremely competitive and un-
sustainable [4] and the emerging contractor policies in-
tended for black economic empowerment (BEE) are be-
ing used as job creation opportunities, which contributes
to the over crowding of the emerging market. It is com-
mon for black businesses to be based on technical skills
which are based on technical skills, which are used to
satisfy needs of the community. However, technical
competence is no guarantee of business success. Opera-
tional (e.g. scheduling and ordering) and business (e.g.
planning, financial control and budgeting) skills are vital
to the success of any enterprise. Small enterprises con-
tribute positively to the economics of the country and to
the survival of large numbers of people.
2.2.1 Skills Shortage in Small Contra ctors
South Africa is characterized by a systematic under-
investment in human capital. This has resulted in a la-
bour force with a skewed distribution of craft skills, ca-
reer opportunities and work-place experience. While the
promulgation of the Skills Development Act of 1997 is
commendable, micro enterprises already express concern
about the administration costs of recovering levies in the
form of grants for training. Furthermore, there are the
costs of designing a workplace training programme as an
alternative to using external training institutions and the
relatively high charges by private training institutions
after the closure of the former industrial training boards
which had been subsidized through levies from industry
[5]. The imbalances of the past with regard to the school
curriculum known as “Bantu education” which did not
offer much mathematic and science as part of the cur-
riculum hinder the emerging market as these subjects are
essential for entry into the engineering and built envi-
ronment industry. This Bantu system secured the exclu-
sion of black people from participating in the construc-
tion industry as they did not have the necessary skills
required. According to Matas [6] the Bantu Education
Act, Act No. 47 of 1953 established a Black Education
Department in the Department of Native Affairs which
would compile a curriculum that suited the nature and
requirements of black people. The aim was to prevent

Problems Facing Small and Medium Size Contractors in Swaziland355
Africans receiving an education that would lead them to
aspire to positions they wouldn’t be allowed to hold in
society. Africans were to receive an education designed
to provide them with skills to serve their own people in
the homelands or work in labouring jobs under whites.
On the other hand the job reservation of 1951 applied to
Blacks, Coloureds and Indians. The notion behind job
reservation was the best, the most highly skilled jobs,
should be reserved for whites. The 1951 Native Build-
ing Workers Act provided that no Black might be em-
ployed as skilled building workers outside of a Bantu
area [6]. The above discussed Acts created a skills
shortage among the Africans to compete in the labour
market.
2.3 Financial Constraints
The high competition among emerging contractors has
contributed to increase financial failures of the emerging
market, making the market unsustainable. The Construc-
tion Industry Development Board [4] states that the large
numbers of emerging contractors have moved into higher
value public tendering in the 0.5m to 2m market, which
is also becoming overly competitive. Statistics South
Africa [7] reports that, from 1995 to 2005, about 5907
construction companies were formally liquidated. Ac-
cording to the Construction Industry Development Board
[2] states that much more than 90% of the emerging
black contractors survive the first five years. According
to the SA Construction Industry Status Report [2], 1,400
construction companies were liquidated over the past
three years. Emerging contractors feel that the banks are
reluctant to deal with them unless exorbitant interest
rates and through compulsory business management ser-
vices. Lack of access to finance both during preconstruc-
tion which disqualifies emerging contractors from meet-
ing guarantee and performance bond requirements and
during construction which leads to cash-flow problems,
incomplete work and even liquidation are financial con-
straints facing emerging contractors. The inadequacy of
external finance at the critical growth/transformation
stages of micro enterprises deters the enterprises with
growth potential from expanding [8].
2.4 Late Payment by Clients
Small contractors run into problems due to late payments
by the clients. Delays with interim and final payments, as
well as onerous contract conditions faced by construction
firms, can also impose huge constraints on the industry.
Many construction firms have suffered financial ruin and
bankruptcy because of delays in payment, which are
common with government contracts. The unlucky con-
tractor, failing to repay loans in a timely fashion had his
business put into liquidation.
2.4.1 Difficulties When Running the Businesses
The following are the lessons that had been learnt in
South Africa with regard to the problems facing small
contractors in the contractor development programme
(Construction Industry Development Board, Department
of Public Works, Construction Education and Training
Authority [4] are as follows:
 Usually open adverts are placed in the media
calling on people to come out and participate; it is very
difficult for a selection process to capture those with the
proper drive, passion and ability to work as contractors;
this brings wrong people in the programs and drives them
easily on the way.
 The required academic qualification is usually
matric (Grade 12) or less; no prior technical and manage-
rial skills/experience in construction related fields as
prerequisites.
 Few matric (Grade 12) holders make rare suc-
cess; most successful contractors have degree or diploma
in construction related field, with 5-10 years technical
and managerial work experience.
 Inadequate training done at short period’s in-
between projects; unsuitable for the contractor’s time and
project need; inappropriate trainers.
 Clear-cut grading criteria had been elusive; re-
cently CIDB graded/categorized the contractors using
some contested criteria; core tech and management staff
not stated, this may still lead to contractors getting pro-
jects they do not have capacity for.
 The contractors do not seem to understand the
nature of complexity and risk in contracting; do not seem
to be adequately informed of how to deal with them
properly.
 The contractors lack skill, experience and tools
to win profitable contract; they either win a grossly un-
der-priced bid, or lose a grossly over-priced one. Cost,
price, control program not provided
 They lack own ready finance and access to af-
fordable loan. Due to lack of collateral, any one that gets
credit from banks is subjected to high interest and finan-
cial risk management charges that make contracts un-
profitable.
 In the ambition to grow big and make big profit,
most of them take projects they do not have the neces-
sary skills and financial resources to execute.
 The contractors tend not to employ qualified
worker; they consider them expensive, but they fail while
doing things all by themselves or with cheap, incompe-
tent workers.
 They lack skills to properly program projects
resources in monthly segments for healthy cash flow;
they are not allowed front load due to lack of trust; they
do not know how to prepare documents for timely pay-
ment; delayed payment.

Problems Facing Small and Medium Size Contractors in Swaziland 356
 They do not seem to understand terms of con-
tract conditions; do not know how to use applicable con-
tract performance procedure to deal with client; they do
not get properly trained in this.
 They are usually considered incapable of doing
competent work, which imperils their relationship with
the client’s agent; they do not seem to know how to use
applicable contractual instruments regarding instruction,
demand for specific performance, and payment; they are
not properly taught; where they know these rules they
fail to use them due to fear of being ‘red listed’.
 In attempt to make huge profit they cut specified
quality, do bad work that falls short of the design stan-
dards/specification. Rejection of such works usually
leads to none payment, conflict and most times failure of
the contractors.
 Those that manage to win profitable contracts
get only 2% profit if they are able to successfully com-
plete the project; it seems discouraging.
The studies show that enterprise success is greatly in-
creased by having relatively stable access to markets and
access to capital from external sources, and that suc-
cessful enterprises are characterized by entrepreneurs
with a basic level of education, essential technical
knowledge and prev ious industry exp erience with larger
enterprise, and ability to learn new skills, innovate and
take risks [9].
2.4.2 Review o f Literature – Swazi l and
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport [1] is a ma-
jor contributor in the Swaziland construction industry.
The Ministry is Government’s implementing agency on
behalf of all ministries with regard to all government
construction capital projects. The role of the Swaziland
Government through the Ministry of Public Works and
Transport is to educate the small and medium contractors
about government’s expectations to the tendering process
and information required for qualification. Another im-
portant aspect o f the dissemination of knowledg e to con-
tractors is that of information on the standard of work-
manship required in government projects. The Ministry
of Public Works and Transport is responsible for initiat-
ing; the payment process to contractors by preparing the
monthly interim certificates. This is very important to
contractors in that the speedy execution of payments will
ensure that contractors are paid in time and their cash
flow is not stretched to the limit.
2.4.3 The Construction Industry in Swaziland
The Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland, through
its 25-year National Development Strategy (NDS) has
identified the construction sector as a priority area to
impact on improving the social and economic develop-
ment of the country. However, to maximize the impact of
the sector as part of the NDS, it will be necessary to de-
velop a sound national policy framework for the industry
to improve its overall effectiveness and efficiency. Fun-
damental to the policy and in line with the NDS, will be
the empowerment of local Swazis within the industry to
maximize their participation and consequent impact on
the local economy. As far back as 1993, the Gov ernment,
through the then Ministry of Public Works and Roads
took the initiative to organize the Southern Africa Con-
struction Industry Initiative (SACII) on behalf of ten
countries of the Southern Africa Development Commu-
nity (SADC) region. At that time, the overall objectives
of the Initiative were to:
 Identify constraints to the development of local
construction industries in each participating country
within the region;
 Identify specific policy reform to improve the
enabling environment for local construction industry
growth and development;
 Implement reforms in member countries with
Government and donor commitment to lo cal constructio n
industry de velopm en t.
In general, the main intention of the Initiative was to
create jobs, develop local capability and empower lo-
cal/indigenous companies in the construction industry
and is directly in line with the policy framework re-
quired by stakeholders in Swaziland. Hence, some of
the recommendations and policy options developed as
part of the 1993 initiative at national and regional level
have been used as a foundation for the framework pre-
sented here.
2.4.4 The Swaziland Construction Industry Policy
The vision of the government of the Kingdom of Swazi-
land, as stated in the Swaziland National Construction
Industry Policy 2002 [1] advocates for “a construction
industry that maximizes “local participation.” The con-
struction industry is not only a considerable source of
direct employment, but also an industry which contrib-
utes to the overall economy of Swaziland, through its
extensive assortment of projects and operations. Since
the Swazi economy is unable to provide employment for
the ever growing population in Swaziland, focus may be
turned to the local construction industry. The contribu-
tion of the construction industry to the Swazi economy
comes in the form of job creation, development of local
capability and the empowerment of local indigenous
companies in the construction industry.
The Swaziland Construction Industry Policy intended
to create an enabling environment to best meet the needs
of the stakeholder in the construction industry in Swazi-
land and commits Government to various roles, functions
and activities. In the past, Government’s role has been as
a regulator and, in some cases, provider of physical in-
frastructure with no holistic policy framework and stra-
tegic plan to drive the industry. Through the policies de-

Problems Facing Small and Medium Size Contractors in Swaziland 357
veloped, Government intends to refocus its primary role
to that of policy and strategy formulation, and regulation
of the industry with a reduced direct involvement in the
provision of infrastructure and serv ices. The implications
are that the capacity and capabilities of the local private
sector need to be developed to undertake some of the
services previously carried out by Government.
It is also the intention of Government to include other
key role players in the co-ordination of the industry and
the development of broader national strategies that may
otherwise not be achieved successfully. A regulatory role
will be retained by Government to ensure safety and
quality of service through out the industry and to monitor
progress in achieving the vision and mission of the in-
dustry presented here. This will mean, a more focused
and skilled national Government that can control, moni-
tor and regulate the relationships between service pro-
viders and implementing agencies.
Government also recognizes that the local human re-
source pool of the construction industry needs to be
strengthened to achieve the vision and mission. It is also
of concern that there is a significant loss of trained per-
sonnel to improved opportunities in other countries.
Hence, Government will assume a responsibility for em-
powerment and capacity enhancement of the local indus-
try through the retention of trained personnel and a gen-
eral improvement of the resource pool in the industry.
However, Government will also seek to involve the pri-
vate sector in meeting the challenge of growing and re-
taining the country’s human resource base.
2.4.5 Contractor Accreditation Process in Swaziland
A registration of accredited construction enterprises in
Swaziland constitutes an essential tool for the industry
transformation, for monitoring the performance of ena-
bling environment programmes, and for ensuring com-
pliance with the performance of public-sector projects.
All construction enterprises engaged in public sector
work, or in receipt of State funding training or support
functions, will be required to be registered in a manner
that will reflect their capacity and performance. The reg-
istration process must address the following: the opera-
tion of a preference scheme, or approved public tender
list, which would reduce industry and public sector cost
associated with an all out open tender process at the same
time supporting risk management; performance monitor-
ing to enable the promotion of improved contractors and
to ensure compliance where standards are violated; and;
the targeting of resources to the emerging contractors
which are demonstrating progress and the withdrawal of
support from those which have graduated or have failed
to progress [1].
Contractor grading in Swaziland is one of the tools
that is used to regulate the constructio n sector. Unlike the
Republic of South Africa where the contractor accredita-
tion is done by an independent body, the Construction
Industry Development Board (CIDB), each department in
the Ministry of Public Works and Transport done its own
accreditation. The categories start from category 1 to 6 as
illustrated on Table 1 for the roads department. Below
the table shows the different categories. The small and
medium size contractors in Swaziland fall between cate-
gories 2 to 6. The tender price category is below R500,
000.00 and less than R20m.
In addition to the contractors summarized in the table
above, there are twelve (12) specialist contractors; with
four (4) specializing in road marking, six (6) specializing
in electrical works (streetlight maintenance) and two (2)
specializing in premix road maintenance.
As shown in the Table 2 below there are no foreign
contractors under main category M1 and sub-category B,
C and D. The table below clearly shows that the Building
Contractors are dominated by Swazi people.
Table 1. Civil contractor grading (roads department) in Swaziland
Categories Local
contractors Foreign contractors Project Category Eligible to tender for
Category 1 1 2 Locally and internationally funded construction projects
above E20 million.
Category 2 1 2 Local and internationally funded construction projects
above E10 million but below E20million.
Category 3 4 0 Local and internationally funded construction projects
above E5 million but below E10million.
Category 4 6 0 Local and internationally funded construction projects
above E1million but below E5million.
Category 5 24 0 Local and internationally funded construction projects
above E500, 000. 00 but below E3million.
Category 6 158 0 Local and internationally funded construction projects
below E500, 000. 00.
Source: Ministry of public works and roads- Swaziland: 2007.

Problems Facing Small and Medium Size Contractors in Swaziland 358
Table 2. Contractor grading (buildings department) in Sw aziland
Categories Local
contractors Foreign contractors Project Category Eligible to tender for
Category M 8 5 Locally and internationally funded construction projects
above E20 million.
Category M1 6 0 Local and internationally funded construction projects
above E10 million but below E20million.
Category A 11 2 Local and internationally funded construction projects
above E5 million but below E10million.
Category B 13 0 Local and internationally funded construction projects
above E1million but below E5million.
Category C 20 0 Local and internationally funded construction projects
above E500, 000. 00 but below E3million.
Category D 91 0 Local and internationally funded construction projects
below E500, 000. 00.
Source: Ministry of public works and buildi ngs departm ent: 2007.
2.4.6 Problems Facing Small and Medium Size
Contractors in Swaziland
The problems facing small contractors are not unique to
Swaziland. The vast majority of construction firms are
small enterprises that rely on outsourcing personnel as
required. This has severely affected skills training and
the retention of expertise in the industry as construction
workers become highly mobile, walking in and ou t of the
industry, depending on performance in other sectors of
the economy. The impact can be seen in the rigid adher-
ence to management techniques and construction prac-
tices handed down from colonial times which, as a result
of inadequate sk ills and capacity.
2.5 Research Methodology
The paper used both primary and secondary data. Litera-
ture review on small contractor s was conducted. A ques-
tionnaire was designed with the help of the statistical
Consultation Service (STATKON) of the University of
Johannesburg. A field survey was carried out on 15
companies; the study target popu lation includes 100 con-
tractors currently registered with the Ministry of Public
Works and Transport Roads and Building sections. The
Ministry of Public Works and Transport the Ministry of
Public Works and Transport serves as a regulatory body
for the construction industry in Swaziland. Swaziland is
divided into four administrative regions; that are Hhohho,
Manzini, Lubombo and Shiselweni. Data was collected
between the 1st of June 2007 and 30th July 2007 and 87
respondents were interviewed. A total of one hundred
(100) questionnaires were distributed to various contrac-
tors registered under categories D, C, B (small) and A
and M1 (medium) with the Ministry of Public Works and
Transport Buildings Department contractor register and
contractors registered under categories 6, 5, 4 (small) and
3 and 2 (medium) with the Ministry of Public Works and
Transport Roads Department contractor register. Con-
tractors registered under these categories are regarded as
small and medium contractors, respectively. The ques-
tionnaire was distributed to senior personnel including
directors, project and construction managers. Out of the
one hundred (100) questionnaires distributed, eighty-
seven (87) were returned. Thirteen (13) questionnaires
were not returned by the respondents. (See Figure 1)
The Kingdom of Swaziland is a landlocked country
surrounded by the Peoples’ Republic of Mozambique in
the east and the Republic of South Africa’s Kwa Zulu-
Natal Province in the south and the Republic of South
Africa’s Mpumalanga Province in the west and in the
north. The Kingdom of Swaziland has a population of
around 1,128,814 inhabitants on 17,363 sq km of land.
3. Findings of Research 2009
The problems facing small contractors are not unique to
Swaziland. The vast majority of construction firms are
small enterprises that rely on outsourcing personnel as
required. This has severely affected skills training and
the retention of expertise in the industry as construction
workers become highly mobile, walking in and ou t of the
industry, depending on performance in other sectors of
the economy. The impact can be seen in the rigid adher-
ence to management techniques and construction prac-
tices handed down from colonial times which, as a result
of inadequate skills and capacity. Delays with interim
and final payments, as well as onerous contract condi-
tions faced by construction firms, can also impose huge
constraints on the industry. Many construction firms
have suffered financial ruin and bankruptcy because of
delays in payment, which are common with government
ontracts. Contemporary research that was conducted in c

Problems Facing Small and Medium Size Contractors in Swaziland 359
MAPUTO
NELSPRUIT
Moamba
Namaacha
Boane
Manhica
Bella Vista
Marracuene
Goba
Ponta do Ouro
Ressano Garcia
Komatipoort
Barberton
White River
Sabie
Lydenburg
Waterval Boven
Amsterdam
Piet Retief
Wakkerstroom
Vryheid
Dundee
Pongola
Jozini
Nongoma
Louwsburg
Hlobane
Paulpietersburg
Badplaas
Ingwavuma
MBABANE
MANZINI
SITEKI
NHLANGANO
Matsapha
Lobamba
Bhunya
Piggs Peak
Bulemb u
Mhlume
Simunye
Sidvokodvo
Big Bend
Lavumisa
Hlathikhulu
Mankayane
Mpaka
Mafutseni
Tshaneni
Siphofaneni
Nsoko
Gege
Sicunusa
MPUMALANGA
KWAZULU-NATAL
MOZAMBIQUE
SWAZILAND
SOUTH AFRICA
Lomahasha BP
Mananga BP
Matsamo BP
Jeeps Reef
Bulembu BP
Josefsdal
Ngwenya BP
Oshoek
Lundzi BP
Wave rley
Sandlane BP
Nerston
Sicunusa BP
Emahlatini
Gege BP
Bothashoop
Mahamb a BP
Salitje BP
Onverwacht Lavumisa BP
Golela
Mhlumeni BP
Pongolapoort Dam
Mnjoli Dam
Sand River Reservoi r
Maguga Dam
Luphohlo Dam
Vygeboom Dam
Westoe Dam
Jeric ho Dam
Heyshope Dam
Lake Sibaya
Lake St. Lucia
Lagoa
Mandejene
Lagoa
Piti
Lagoa
Uembje
Lagoa
Chuali
Ngwempisi
Lusutfu
Mbuluzi
Mbuluzane
Maputo
Tembe
Mbuluzi
Komati
Matilonge
Pongolo
Mkhondvo
Ngwavuma
Lusutfu
Komati
Crocodile
Crocodile
Komati
Incomati
Sabie
Incom
ati
Sabie
Seekoeispruit
Usuru
Ngwempisi
Phongolo
Phongolo
Phongolo
Mkuze
Msunduzi
Nyalazi
Mlilwane N.R.
Malolotja N.R.
Songimvelo G.R.
Mkhaya N.R.
Mlawula N. R .
Hlane N.P.
Barberton N.R.
Mawewe R.A.
Kurger National Park
Sterkspruit N.R.
Maputo Elephant Reserve
Tembe Elephant Reserve
Ndumu G.R.
Kosi Bay N.R.
Mkuzi G.R.
Pongolapoort N.R.
Sodwana Bay N.P.
Itala N.R.
Hluhluwe G.R.
Phinda Resource Reserve
The Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park
EN 2
EN 5
EN 4EN 1
MR 1
MR 1
MR 2
MR 3
MR 3
MR 3
MR 3
MR 4
MR 4
MR 5
MR 5
MR 6
MR 7
MR 8
MR 8
MR 8
MR 9
MR 9
MR 10
MR 10
MR 11
MR 11MR 11
MR 12
MR 13
MR 14
MR 14
MR 14
MR 15
MR 16
MR 18
MR 19
MR 19
MR 20
MR 21
MR 21
MR 24
MR 25
Figure 1. General survey offices, ministry of natural resources, Swaziland, 2009
2007 by the authors revealed the current reasons for the
failure of small and medium size contractors in Swazi-
land. 87 owners of the small and medium size contractors
were interviewed. 68% of the contractors are less than
four years; 20% are between 5 and 9 years; and 12 % had
operated for more than 10 years. There was no contractor
that had operated more than 15 years. 63% of the re-
spondents believ e that the four major bank s in Swaziland
have proper systems in place to support small and me-
dium size contractors once they have secured work. On
the other hand 37% of the respondents do not believe that
the four major banks in Swaziland have proper systems
in place to support small and medium size contractors.
33.4% of the respondents think that the current environ-
ment within the construction industry in Swaziland is
favorable for small and medium size contractors to be
successful. On the other hand 66.6% of the respondents
believe that the construction industry environment is not

Problems Facing Small and Medium Size Contractors in Swaziland 360
41%
17%
35%
5%
2%
None at all
Very poor
poor
adequately
Very well
36%
3%
34%
22%
5%
None at all
Very poor
Poor
Adequate l y
Very Well
Figure 2. Develop business skills Figure 3. Develop management skills
favorable for the success of the small and medium size
contractors.
From the ab ove figure 40% of th e respondents are sat-
isfied with business skill development and 60% of the
respondents were not satisfied. The figure above shows
that the respondents are not satisfied with regard to the
development of business skills. (See Figure 2)
From the ab ove figure 27% of th e respondents are sat-
isfied with the development of managerial skills. 73% of
the respondents ar e not satisfied with th e development of
managerial skills. It is clear from the above figure that
respondents had n ot been trained. (See F igure 3)
From the figure below 47% of the respondents are sat-
isfied with the development of technical skills. 53% of
the respondents ar e not satisfied with th e development of
technical skills. (See Figure 4)
From the research conducted it can be concluded that
the relative lack of success among the small and medium
size contractors in Swaziland is a results of the following
problems which must be addressed in order for the con-
tractors to be successful:
 A lack of resources for either large or complex
construction work.
 An inability to provide securities, raise insur-
ance and obtain professional indemnity.
36%
3%
11%
44%
6%
None at all
Very po o r
Poor
Adequately
Very well
Figure 4. Develop technical skills
 The contracts were inevitably packaged in such
a way as to exclude small contractors.
 Inadequacy in technical and managerial skills
required in project implementation.
 Lack of continuity in relation to type, scale and
location of work
 An inadequate approach and insufficient know-
ledge, time and experience required for the whole proc-
ess of finding work, once foun d, insufficient understand-
ing of the contract documentation and the preparation
and submission of tenders.
 Slow and non-payment by government after co-
mpleting a government project
 Little or inadequate effort has been made to id e-
ntify the causes of failure among the local contractors in
the implementation of construction projects in Swazi-
land.
 The need for the introduction of a set of rules to
govern the construction industry done by an independent
body in the Kingdom of Swaziland.
4. Lessons and Recommendations
The literatures that have been reviewed both in Swazi-
land and internationally demonstrated that the develop-
ment of Swazi contractors, small and medium sized con-
tractors faced several challenges which must be ad-
dressed. In the case of Swaziland the majority of the re-
spondents are dissatisfied with the quality of assistance
offered by the government to the small and medium sized
contractors in Swaziland. Small enterprises contribute
positively to the eco nomics of the country and to the sur-
vival of large numbers of people. However, the success
of small enterprise is impaired by the common weakness
from which many enterprises suffer. A vibrant self-sus-
taining construction industry is one that is planned and
matched with government capital programmes and sup-
port schemes aimed at improving the efficiency of the
local construction industry. Swaziland is faced with a
large challenge of developing infrastructure in the disad-
vantaged communities, and also upgrading the existing

Problems Facing Small and Medium Size Contractors in Swaziland361
infrastructure to cope with the high demand. It is rec-
ommended that the Swaziland Government must under-
take the following measures to address the challenges
facing Small and Medium Size contractors:
 Business skills: training in business manageme-
nt skills is key the in managing a construction business
effectively and efficiently.
 Management skills: financial management sho-
uld be emphasized as well as networking with other peo-
ple with similar businesses
 Good record keeping: financial records should
be prioritized and a record of books of accounts on a
daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis should be estab-
lished.
 Well managed cash flow: prepare cash flow
forecasts and budgets and prepare a cost-benefit analysis.
 The government should break down big contr-
acts into small contracts so that small contractors with
lower grading can qua l i f y to do the job
 The government should assist in training Small
and Medium Size contractors on business management
 The government should create a construction
advice centre
 The government should establish a Contractor
Training Institute to train Small and Medium Size con-
tractors
 Government payment system must be improved
 Government must establish financial institutions
that will act as guarantees in order to enable contractors
to have access to finance.
5. Conclusions
The literatures that have been reviewed both in Swazi-
land and internationally demonstrated that the develop-
ment of Swazi owned contractors, small and medium
sized contractors, in particular are face many challenges
which need to be addressed in order for the contractors to
sustainable in their growth. The majority of the respon-
dents are dissatisfied with the quality of assistance of-
fered by the government to the small and medium sized
contractors in Swaziland. The problem lies, however, in
the formation of a construction industry in line with the
implementation of government programmes that must
facilitate the creation of a vibrant self-sustaining con-
struction industry. A vibrant self-sustaining construction
industry is one that is planned and matched with gov-
ernment capital programmes and support schemes aimed
at improving the efficiency of the local construction in-
dustry. The study finds that lack of effective management
during their early stages is a major cause of business
failure for small and medium sized contractors. Owners
tend to manage their businesses themselves as a measure
of reducing operatio nal costs. Poor reco rd keeping is also
a cause for start-up business failure. Lack of financial
management; lack of entrepreneurial skills; lack of pro-
per training; lack of resources; lack of technical skills,
lack of contractual and managerial skills; late payment
for work done which are common with government con-
tracts; inability to get credit from suppliers and fronting
for established contractors are also contributing factors
for the failure of small contractors in Swaziland.
6. Acknowledgements
Research works in this paper are partial supported by the
National Research Foundation (NRF) and the University
of Johannesburg Research Funding.
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