Former MP for Ablekuma Central, Theophilus Tetteh Chaie
Former Member of Parliament for Ablekuma Central Constituency, Theophilus Tetteh Chaie says persons placed in positions to ensure that state resources are properly managed, do not show any concern when these resources are mismanaged.
“The truth of the matter is that I have said in this country, those of us who are managing the resources of this country, we do not care how the resources are used. It is a fact.”
“Public Account Committee will bring people before the Committee with recommendations for those people to be punished, but the Attorney General’s Department will never act. It isn’t the work of the Committee to bring people to the law court to be punished,” he said on 3FM’s Community Connect.
Mr. Tetteh Chaie’s comments come on the back of a decision by the Audit Service to scrutinize and audit road contracts and the work of contractors to ensure that quality roads are constructed across the country.
He stated that although the move by the Audit Service is in the right direction, it will be difficult for them to attain desired results, since the poor work of contractors in the country is mostly as a result of the lack of resources from government.
“The issue is about resource allocation. Aside the contractor who is going to do the job, if resources are not available to do the work, it will be difficult to fault a contractor for a shoddy work that has been done.”
The former MP, who was once part of the Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament, said road networks are a different ball game which goes beyond the competence of a contractor.
“Contractors are asked to begin work without any mobilization; and they are asked to raise a certificate in the middle of the work, and sometimes over a year, the money will not be paid and we should bear in mind that drivers are using the initial road done so when it happens this way, the lay person shouldn’t fault them for a shoddy work done.”
Again, he said if adequate supervision is done without resources for roads to be continued from where it was left off, work on the road will be destroyed.
He therefore noted that plans by the Audit Service to scrutinize these road projects will not work, because funds for contractors are not available in the first place.
