A total of 130 other projects have been billed for re-scoping so as to restructure the contracts to meet deadlines, the report by the Roads and Highways Project Rationalisation Committee (HPRC) recommended.

It sanctioned for continuation, 281 projects that are at various stages of completion. The report was presented to the sector Minister, Mr. Kwasi Amoako-Atta in Accra on Wednesday.

[contextly_sidebar id=”gZAbGu1Gbwp2rYlOTZr6R53CRb3LWNkH”]The committee was constituted when investigations conducted by the ministry revealed that the Ghana Road Fund owed contractors over GHc 10 billion for executed and non-executed projects.

It was set up in May to assess and rationalise outstanding road contracts and projects to enable the ministry to decide on the projects.

The committee was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Roads, Mr. Kwabena Owusu Aduomi was also tasked to identify modalities and criteria used in the award of each contract, the age of the project, the amount paid and the source of funding.

Presenting the report to the Minister, Mr Aduomi said that out of the total 547 projects, the Ghana Highway Authority awarded 240 out of which 79 have been penciled for termination, 37 for re-scoping and 124 for continuation.

The Department of Urban Roads, he said awarded for 182 contracts out of which 17 are to be terminated, 101 for continuation and 64 others for re-scoping.

In addition, Mr Aduomi indicated that the Department of Feeder Roads awarded 125 contracts of which 40 are to be terminated, 29 billed for re –scoping and 56 are to continue.

Mr Aduomi said the total GoG commitments to the various contracts which stood at about GHc 10.38 billion was reduced to GHc 5.7 billion after the assessment by the committee.

He, however stated that the amount saved for the ministry does not include outstanding amounts for certified payments, while the total amounts for variations and interests due to delay in payments was also not known.

Mr Amoako- Atta commended the committee for the good work done and assured that the report would be analysed for appropriate actions.

He said the road fund was not established to rehabilitate roads but for periodic maintenance, a situation that he said had created serious financial crisis that could paralyse the fund.

Mr Amoako-Atta questioned the rationale behind the awarding of about 90 per cent of the contracts under sole sourcing which was against the procurement law.

The Minister said the recommendations would be implemented swiftly without fear or favour to serve as a guide to all those working under the ministry.

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Source: Ghanaian Times

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The Minister had some harsh words for local engineers as he intimated that they were preoccupied with making money, as opposed to ensuring lasting projects.

[contextly_sidebar id=”JGIgZBr6ufbaeRgftF56awk3dvXMEfOW”]On the other hand, he noted that foreign contractors were preferred “because they have distinguished themselves.”

Mr. Atta-Akyea made these remarks at the Engineering Council as part of a one day working tour, where he acknowledged the need for local content and Ghanaian involvement in key projects.

“…after all, you go and bring engineers from Israel to do a major project here and you are enriching the Israelis,” the Minister noted.

“But there is a problem,” he added. “If you hire Ghanaian engineers, they wouldn’t want to do the work right. They cut corners, they inflate figures.”

“For the engineer, who is outside, it is a legacy, so that your name is permanently written… but for the Ghanaian engineer, it’s not like that. He is trying to look at situations to make good money and leaving us a shoddy job,” the minister added.

Mr. Atta-Akyea also urged engineers to increase their capacity to generate income, explaining that “the reason why we are saying this is that the national kitty is challenged – one of the things economists wouldn’t want us to say, but that is the fact of the matter.”

Complaints from locals

The minister’s comments are unlikely to sit well with some local engineers and contractors who have previously expressed some discontent with the government’s keenness to award contracts to foreign companies or expatriates

In March 2017, the umbrella body of local road contractors, the Progressive Road Contractors Association (PROCA), called on the government to stop the practice of awarding contracts to foreign companies.

It complained that they often lose out on these contracts, especially to Chinese firms. According to the Association’s Vice President, Hammond Larbie, this was pushing them out of business.

Mr. Larbie holds the view that the situation is stifling the capacities of local contractors from flourishing.

Local contractors have consistently complained about the lack of government financial commitment towards them with a notable instance seeing scores of contractors in January 2017, besiege the residence of then-President John Dramani Mahama, demanding payment for projects they executed for the government of Ghana.

According to the contractors, their services were employed for the construction of a number of Community Day Senior High Schools but they have not received payments which had been in arrears for the previous eight months.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/Anass Seidu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, per the local government law, Act 936 such projects are to be undertaken by the MMDAs on behalf of the central government.

Mr. Kyeremanteng made the comment on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday when the poor state of roads in the country was being discussed.

[contextly_sidebar id=”MGkb06MTeXwmnAEQC6NTcnqJ8fyd2yDi”]Some Ghanaians who called into the show, expressed frustration at duty bearers over the deplorable nature of their roads.

But Mr. Kyeremanteng insisted that central government by law is only responsible for constructing highways but not feeder or urban roads.

“When we are talking about government, I think we should distinguish between the central government and that of the local government. We say that all governments are governments but when it comes to development, the local government is the developing agency of the central government. And the principal law guiding their operation is the new law that is Act 936. We were using the Act 462 from 1993 up to last year [2016] September until the new law was passed.”

He explained that the new law enforces the decentralization process and clearly demarcates remits of the central and local governments in terms of construction of projects.

“So what we are saying is that so far as the district assemblies are concerned, they have a department of feeder roads as part of the decentralization process and for the urban and municipal authorities we have the urban roads being part of the decentralization process. So what we are expecting is that any development that is supposed to be roads, streets, the construction of drains among others are not supposed to be the central governments work.”

He said the law further charges the MMDAs to set up a separate account where levies collected in the form of building permits are invested into, adding that such monies are supposed to be used for fixing roads and putting up other developmental projects within the districts and municipalities.

“Under the development permit, you are supposed to pay money for the construction of the roads, provision of water and electricity to your house. When the assemblies collect the monies they are supposed to put them in escrow accounts that will be used for the provision of the various facilities and infrastructure in the area.”

“In this country, all these laws have been set but successive governments refuse to apply it. So when people wake up they insult the central government but it is not the central government duty to provide in the municipal or urban areas the facilities that go into the various residential estates. The central government’s role is to provide highways, to provide money for the construction of the highways and even in that case they even collect tolls in other to recoup the kind of expenditure they spent on the project,” Mr. Kyeremanteng added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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The cost of the project is estimated to be over GHs600 million, stretching through six constituencies.

When completed, the road will address the difficulties drivers go through when plying the Bolga-Bawku road.

It will also serve as an alternative route for transporting agricultural products and other goods from the North to the South through the Eastern corridor.

The project was awarded to Queiroz Galvoa in July 2016, under the erstwhile John Mahama administration.

It is expected to be completed in about 30 months.

On a working visit by the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Rockson Bukari, to ascertain the state of works on the road, the Chief resident engineer, Francis Hammond, said they were working assiduously to complete the project on time.

He added that, even though the entire project covers 116km, they were only working on 103km because 13km of the project was awarded to another contractor.

Mr. Hammond said the 116km road encompasses three bridges over the Kolaa river, Red Volta and White Volta, with a bypass linking the outskirts of Bawku to Pusiga.

“Out of the 116km Bolga-Pulmakon road, we are working on only 103km, and about 6km of the road has been prima sealed with bitumen, there will also be a first and second seal of the road.  The first 2km of the Bolga road will have a dual carriage  asphalted. There will be facilities such as Axle load stations, toll booths, traffic and street lights,” he said.

Mr. Hammond also expressed concern about challenges in compensating persons whose properties were affected by the construction works, adding that, efforts are far advanced to deal with the situation to allow speedy works around those areas.

On his part, the Upper East Regional Minister, Rockson Bukari, expressed satisfaction at the pace of work so far, and gave the assurance that the project will be completed on schedule.

He added that he will not renege on efforts to routinely monitor works on the project to ensure value for money.

“The 13km stretch from Nandogdi to the Red Volta awarded to MAWUMS as a special contract should be terminated and re-awarded to the main contractor Queiroz Galvao because MAWUMS has not done any works on his portion of the project,” he said.

Rockson Bukari also inspected the partial reconstruction works on the 34.23km Navrongo-Chuchuliga-Tumu  road, and the asphalting of roads within the Navrongo township.

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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