Government is being reckless - MP

"I believe this hullabaloo about inflated contract is simply because this government has failed to perform and is only looking for a loophole and anytime they are into the wall, they come out with this…their actions are really reckless and will not lead us anywhere. I dare the minister and the government to come out and tell us which particular project has been inflated, the cost of inflation and which engineer is supervising,” Member of Parliament (MP) for Adaklu Constituency, Kwame Agbodza said.

His comment follows claims made by the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo.

Mr Osaafo Maafo has bemoaned the level of corruption within the road sector.

He claims some road contractors intentionally inflate the cost of road projects in a way that negatively affects the country’s funding sources.

“If you go to the score card of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, they describe the sources of our poor performance in the road sector. They talk about lack of adequate funds, technical know-how, but they also talk about corruption. It’s something we should also pay attention to. We must have value for money in the road sector...the cost of construction of roads should conform to international standards. We have a situation where the cost per kilometre of our road network is higher than international standards even when you work out the material aspect. This calls for a very close look at the matter" he indicated.

However, speaking in an interview on Citi Eyewitness news, Monday, Hon Agbodza said the current administration should "spare this country the agony of everyday waking up and telling us contracts have been inflated" and rather mention names of those involved.

“What is preventing this government from telling us which particular road contract has been inflated, who is the contractor and consultant. Why can’t they do this simple thing and spare this country the agony of every day waking up and telling us contracts have been inflated…If there is any evidence, lets deal with that, don’t bastardize all engineers and quantity surveyors…where I disagree with him is the penchant of this current government to make vague statements when the opportunity is there to look into these things… If you think contract A, there is evidence of inflation or overpricing of contract, you can take that contract… In any case, I’m not sure how a contractor can inflate a contract price, the contract document is never built by the road contractor,” he said.