A senior minister said that a delay in the payment of contractors is unacceptable

General News on Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Source: gbcghanaonline.com

2019-04-30

Prime Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo called on ministries, departments and agencies, as well as metropolitan and municipal administrations and districts, to ensure that project funds are readily available before the allocation of funds. markets.

He stated that the situation in which contractors undertaking government projects are not paid on time is unacceptable and does not ensure value for money.

Osafo Maafo said late payments had created a level of uncertainty in project pricing.

He spoke at a high level forum in Accra on the optimization of resources in public infrastructure at the local level.

The Prime Minister explained that periodic changes in economic performance meant that contract prices would vary.

He reiterated the need to ensure that the government gets the value of money in all projects.

Mr. Osafo Maafo lamented the bureaucracy responsible for releasing funds to entrepreneurs who undertake government projects. He stated that entrepreneurs ended up inflating project costs to cover delays in the payment period.

"The considerable delays in paying contractors are unacceptable. Most of the quotes we get are loaded. That's because they (the entrepreneurs) borrow money from banks to do the work, and they know that they will not be paid for months. Assuming that they charge it (contract pricing) six months late and you are delayed for one year, you incur losses, but if you are paid in 3 months, you realize gains . This creates uncertainty about pricing and value for money, so each government should first look for funds for certain projects. "

Head of the Local Administration Department Ing. Nana Ato Arthur is not happy with the situation in which the engineers are not ready to be posted outside Greater Accra.

"All members of the service want to work in the regions of Greater Accra, Ashanti and East, and even in the Central Region, they want to be in Kasoa because it is close to Accra. So we have trouble badigning staff to the regions "

The first edition of the forum dedicated to the role of technocrats was organized by the KNUST Alumni, chapter of the ministries.