Minister wants lazy contractors punished

All lazy and nonperforming contractors who avoidably delay the completion of government social-amenity projects and thereby cause unnecessary sufferings for residents of communities who are to benefit from  the said projects ought to be sanctioned in accordance with law, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, a Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development (MLGDRD) has  stated.

Mr. Adjei-Mensah Korsah, the Member of Parliament for Techiman South Constituency, during a five-day working tour of the Upper West and Savannah Regions to inspect key selected projects that falls under the supervision of his Ministry expressed disappointment that some contractors in the said regions have abandoned work on government projects although they have received adequate funding for the said projects.

In the  Wa Municipality, for instance, Adjei-Mensah Korsah said it is unacceptable that the contractor working on the First Lot of a market complex has done just 70 percent of work although the project was scheduled to have been completed well over a year ago.

The market complex project is  under the Ghana Secondary City Support Program.

Another delayed project for which the Deputy Minister expressed disappointment was the construction on a Storm Drain in Wa, where the contractor has dome just 20 percent of work with just two weeks left for the time frame with which the storm drain should have been completed.

This contractor, according to the Deputy Minister, has also received the requisite funding for the job.

Meanwhile the absence of the Storm Drain has been a major problem for the people of Wa during rainy seasons and has led to flooding, loss of lives and loss of property  but the paid contractor seem not to care

The Deputy Minister expressed worry about the situation and tasked  the Engineers to submit a report on recommendation to terminate the engagements with the 2 contractors.

He said the reports would be submitted to the substantive sector Minister  for the necessary action.

Adjei-Mensah Korsah also visited Wechau Hospital and finally the site for government’s agenda 111 project which is progressing steadily

The Deputy Minister, during the inspection tour, would engage with the management of staff members of the respective Municipal and District Assemblies (M/DAs) in the two regions.

The interactive and personal engagement forms part of the Ministry’s quest to deepen decentralized governance and improved access to services at the sub-national level through the formulation of policies, programmes and projects and monitoring and evaluation of their implementation using professional staff and appropriate technology.

Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah would particularly touch base with the leadership and staff of the M/DAs at Wa Central, Wa East, Wa West, Nadowli, Lawra , Jirapa, West Gonja, North Gonja, Central Gonja Sawla Tuna Kalba  and Bole Districts.

Some of the  selected key projects to be inspected include  those funded by the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Project (GSCSP),  the District Assemblies Common Fund-Responsive Factor Grant(DACF-RFG), Modernization of Agriculture in Ghana(MAG) and the  Ghana Productive Safety Net Project(GPSNP)

The development objective of the GSCSP is to improve urban management and basic urban services in participating M/Das.

The program will constitute a slice of the government’s broader decentralization support program (the responsiveness factor grant (RFG) and its associated district performance assessment tool (DPAT)), specifically focusing on MAs that manage urban development in secondary cities.

The Deputy Minister  also held meetings with staff of the Wa Assembly,.

Adjei-Mensah Korsah is expected to visit Nadowli, Lawra, Jirapa and Daffiama Districts before he ends the tour on March 22.