Although it was still in recession, the government was ignoring the construction industry and was further burdening it with exaggerated fees for the permits it required for Mepa, the GRTU said.

It said in a statement that the most recent GDP statistics clearly showed that while other sections of the industry had started to get out of the recession, the same could not be said for the construction industry.

Rather than assisting this industry, the government was further burdening it at a time when it was facing major problems and was making an effort to invest and retain jobs.

The GRTU said it could not understand the contradiction in the government’s policy towards industry and development. It was not right for some areas to be preferred over others, it said.