Ethics in the construction industry in Zambia

The construction industry is prevalent with unethical practices. Unethical practices exist both in developing and developed countries. Those common on construction projects include: corruption; conflict of interest; fraud; collusion; negligence; and poor quality work. These practices may have devastating effects on a country's economy. The purpose of this study was to: investigate the practices of ethics in the construction industry; identify significant unethical practices on construction projects in Zambia; and suggest strategies for addressing identified malpractices. A questionnaire was used to collect data. The results reported in this paper suggest the prevalence of unethical practices in all phases of construction projects in Zambia. Benchmarking best practices in ethics; observing ethics guidelines; following good leadership on ethics; pursuing indictments and convictions of individuals established to be guilty by courts of law; and simplifying tender procedures have all been recommended as strategies for combating unethical practices.