Bring back State Construction Company - Government urged

Hohoe, March 27, GNA - Mr Anthony Kumeni, a retired civil servant has called on government to re-visit the re-establishment of the defunct State Construction Company (SCC) to forestall the rising phenomenon of shoddy infrastructural works. He said re-engineering of SCC would provide value addition for money, remove wastage and prompt qualitative delivery of projects. Mr Kumeni, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in reaction to the increasing phenomenon of substandard projects country wide, said the defunct SCC as established under Dr Kwame Nkrumah, was a source of pride to the construction industry.

He added that the company was noted for its prompt and qualitative delivery of works. Some SCC works he mentioned included the Volta Regional Administration block, Bank of Ghana in Hohoe, Nkonya Secondary School, Aflao border complex, State Insurance Company in Ho, bridges and road networks like the Hohoe-Golokwati road, which he noted have all stood the test of time.

Mr Kumeni, a former employee of the Public Works Department (PWD) and a native of Gbi-Bla in Hohoe, said the penchant for quality works endeared the SCC to taking up contract in Namibia and Angola that yielded the country huge foreign exchange. He expressed dissatisfaction with government's engagements of foreign companies such as China and India to undertake massive works in the country including the Presidential Palace christened the Jubilee House. Mr Kumeni added that profits accruing to these foreign firms were usually repatriated to their home countries at the expense of Ghana's economy.

He said the domestication of the architectural and civil departments and products of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) could provide the technological base to meet the global challenges in the building and construction industries. Mr Kumeni was optimistic that reviving the SCC would eliminate perceived corruption and cronyism in the award of contracts, bringing transparency and sense of duty and belongingness to bear on the industry. He said this would cut back on award of contracts to political party favourites that tend to comprise competence.