Contractors Storm GETFund

A NUMBER of contractors on Tuesday besieged the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) in Accra to demand payment for all outstanding money due them.

The contractors, numbering about 70, alleged that monies they used to supply computers, stationeries and furniture, among other things, had not been paid to them for several months now.

A spokesperson for the aggrieved contractors who spoke on condition of anonymity told journalists that some of the contractors were under intense pressure from their banks due to their inability to re-pay the loans taken from the banks.

“Some of us are running away from our houses due to the fact that we cannot settle our bankers, and cannot pay our children’s school fees neither can we take care of our families,” he lamented.

According to the contractor, when the payment of the money delayed in the first few months, they wrote to GETFUND to ascertain when they should expect their monies.

“However, we have been here on several occasions and they keep telling us to exercise patience as they will definitely settle our problem. For the past seven months, some of us have not even been paid at all whilst others, for a year, have as well not received any payment.

“Even though it has not paid us for the monies we used in the construction of the classrooms, it is going round boasting about those same project and even commissioning some of them,” he noted.

According to the spokesperson, what worried contractors most was how the interest rate on the loans kept accumulating

“We are giving them up to Tuesday, April 10, 2012, to settle all the monies they owe us, or, we shall take legal action against them,” he cautioned.

Stephen Baffoe, Public Relations Manager of GETFUND, addressing the media, indicated that the sector had processed GH¢118 million which was yet to be approved by the Minister of Finance to settle the money due them.

According to him, GETFund initially wanted to settle some of the contractors but it was later told to hold on since the money could not settle all of them.

“A GETFund delegation was supposed to meet last week with the Minister of Finance to deliberate on the issues but unfortunately we could not. We are hoping to meet next week and convey the outcome to the contractors,” he added.

He therefore urged the contractors to exercise restraint and be assured that the board would do all it could to pay their monies.

Police personnel were at the place to calm the contractors down and also protect workers of GETFund since the contractors initially locked the entrance to the building around 11am on Tuesday morning.