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Akufo-Addo’s Gov”t Treating Us Unfairly Road Contractors cry over non-payment funds running into GH¢3.69 Billion
National Vice Chairman of Association of Road Contractors Ghana Mr Stephen Kweku Attatsi, has expressed grave concern about the persistence delay of the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to release Ghana Road Funds to settle the acummilated debts owed members of the Association in the country.
National Vice Chairman of Association of Road Contractors Ghana Mr Stephen Kweku Attatsi, has expressed grave concern about the persistence delay of the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to release Ghana Road Funds to settle the acummilated debts owed members of the Association in the country.
“We are now fed up with government of President Akufo-Addo’s litany of promises. When the executive members of Association of Road Contractors Ghana including all the various Regional Ministers, directors and key players in road sector met at the Ghana International Conference Centre in January 8, 2019 at the occasion when Vice President Dr Alhaji Mahamadu Bawumia declared 2019 Year Of Road, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta stated that 2019 was a year of road and 2020 also year of road.
“Interestingly, the sector disclosed to us that the government would release money on February 2019 to pay all the road contractors owed by government. But annoyable we are in 2021 for which road construction funds were still not being paid by President of Akufo-Addo NPP government,” Mr Akattsi disclosed.
A report by the parliamentary committee on roads and transport has shown that the government still owes road contractors more than GH¢ 3.69 billion for projects financed from the consolidated and roads fund.
Although the government has paid over GH¢2.2 billion of the funds in arrears, the delay in settling the outstanding debt is affecting the construction industry.
In an interview with journalists Vice Chairman intimated that government is dealing with them unfairly, adding that the deliberate delayed of government to release roads funds to pay members of the Association is completely amounts to causing financial lost to the state.
“Our financial houses (banks) do not even want to see our faces in their banking institutions just because we owed them big and we are not in good financial position to pay back the loan facilities we secure from them “This because of the delay of the government to pay us our monies due us. Even in case if banks are collapsing because of monies we owe them, what about those of us who owe the monies. A lot of us have died, and most of our equipment is down. I doubt if any action we take against them as a group will pressurise them,” he fumed.