Contractor locks up CHPS compound over GHS143k debt

The CHPS compound at Dwere, a farming community in the Kintampo North Municipality of the Bono East region, has been locked up by a building contractor.

The contractor, Construction and Development Support (CDS) Ghana Ltd, said the decision is to compel the Kintampo North Municipal Assembly to pay some GHC 143,000 of the project’s cost balance outstanding and one overdue for the past two years. This lockup comes on the back of warnings issued by the contractor last week to the MCE.

Over 3000 farmers in the community and its neighbouring villages who source their healthcare to the facility would have to trek some 23 miles to Kintampo for medical attention if it is not reopened.

Some of the villagers looked on helplessly while others knelt down to beg the contractor who had stormed the village with chains and padlocks to lock up the facility on Independence Day.

Project Consultant, Lily Akyaamaa blamed the Municipal Chief Executive for Kintampo North, Michael Sarkodie Baffoe for deliberately failing to pay for the project after taking credit for its completion in 2017, few months after he took office.

Checks at the assembly revealed that, the project was begun by the previous government, abandoned halfway due to lack of funds, until the current MCE negotiated with the contractor to prefinance its completion.

He has since failed to honor payments as agreed claiming the assembly has misplaced its records on the contract.

The contractor has lodged a formal complaint to the Kintampo Divisional Police Commander, ACP J.A. Gyawu over the conduct of Sarkodie Baffoe.

As at the time of filing this story, the facility remained closed with all health professionals evicted.

The locals who benefit from the facility have therefore called on government to resolve the issue expeditiously, since the facility is their only source of healthcare and its closure will bring dire and deadly consequences on them.