June 2018c

64 65 which includes the Jamaican Institute of Ar- chitects, the Jamaica Institution of Engineers, the Jamaica Institute of Quantity Surveyors, and the Land Surveyors Association of Jamai- ca. “And the advocacy never seems to stop,” Taylor avers. “For quite a few years, we’ve been lobbying the government for a lien law. We haven’t gotten anywhere with it, but we hav- en’t given up trying. We’re also trying to get a construction industry policy; if this is promul- gated by the government, then everybody will work within that framework. We’re working with engineers and architects for a building code – and that just passed in the Parliament, this past January. We’re hoping to put in the regulations for it to be operational, shortly.” Another important issue on IMAJ’s agenda INCORPORATED MASTERBUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF JAMAICA concerns how construction projects get bond- ed. “What we’re finding is – and this happens to anybody who has had a devaluation of the dollar like we had – that the contracts now are so large, not many people can put up a performance bond,” Taylor opines. Two possible solutions to the problem include having IMAJ form its own company to help finance performance bonds for its members, or changing the way established insurance companies can be contracted to perform a similar service. “We are trying to flesh out a concept where we can find a way to make it much more affordable to do a performance bond.” Regarding the insurance option, Taylor be- lieves that one way is to have bonds that can be purchased in the same way people pay for HUMPHREY TAYLOR, always working!