Road contractors urged to resolve problems

Accra. Dec. 5, GNA - Mr Magnus Opare-Asamoah, Deputy Minister of Road Transport, on Tuesday urged Ghanaian road contractors to resolve problems confronting them to ensure that their work impacted positively on the growth of the nation.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Road Contractors in Accra, he said the Government was committed to the development of good roads.

The Deputy Minister said it was, therefore, necessary to ensure that the Association resolved their problems for the Government to deal with it with confidence.

The Government has invested 10 trillion cedis in the road transport sector from 2002 to 2005 representing about 33 per cent of the Budget. About 90 per cent of the amount invested in road transport goes into maintenance, with the bulk being undertaken by local contractors. Mr Opare-Asamoah noted that the Government did not want such funds to go to waste hence the need for the contractors to put their acts together in order to meet the expectation of the population. He observed that there were other issues militating against the smooth functioning of local contractors to deliver good quality work. Mr Opare-Asamoah mentioned the inability of the contractors to meet deadlines, delay in payment for work done and high cost of equipment as some of the challenges facing the members of the Association. Lack of qualified human resources, he said, formed part of the inadequacies of the members of the Association and advised them to collaborate among themselves to share risks, opportunities and to be able to compete with foreign companies.

Mr Opare-Asamoah said the Government was aware of the problems confronting the local contractors and was, therefore, doing all it could to help to alleviate them.

So far, the Government had reduced the payment period for work done from six months to two months and intervened in negotiations with Volvo to supply equipment on hire purchase to members of the Association, the Deputy Minister said.

Mr Opare-Asamoah, however, urged members to honour the payment schedule in order to allow other members to benefit from the arrangement.

He said the Government has developed an action plan for the improvement of the industry to reduce multiple costs of road works, assess contracts and the issuance of licences and ensure adherence to strict compliance of specifications.

He also expressed the hope that a joint committee of the Ministry and the Association would work together to eliminate constraints faced by the contractors.

Mr J. Twumasi-Mensah, National Chairman of the Association, commended the Government for reducing the payment period and said members needed further assistance to solve technical problems, contractual issues and haulage of chippings from long distances. He said the members were particularly grateful to the President for intervening in the negotiations with Volvo for the release of expensive heavy duty equipment to the members on hire purchase to facilitate their work. The second phase of a similar contract with Volvo is currently under negotiation for the release of the second batch of equipment. Mr Twumasi-Mensah said court actions by members had stalled some activities of the Association including the election of new officers. The first case has been dismissed and he expressed the hope that the second case would also be dismissed.