PIAC Chair, Emerita Professor Elizabeth Schandorf
Emerita Professor Elizabeth Schandorf, the Chairperson of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), has urged the government to prioritise funding of project involving oil monies rather than co-mingling funds for such projects.
She noted that paying attention to projects with a single dedicated fund, particularly oil revenue, was paramount for Ghanaians to see real evidence of the oil benefits in terms of capital projects
Emerita Professor Schandorf made the comment when she visited some oil funded projects within the Western Region to ascertain the level of completion and utilization.
All the five projects visited had component of funding from different sources, which had stalled the progress of work, incurring cost overruns, delay in project deliverables as well as completion dates.
The professor led the team from PIAC to visit projects, including the modernisation of the locomotive workshops complex, drainage systems and the Railway Training school.
Other projects visited were the Ghana Health Service holding and treatment centre, the asphalt overlay of Anaji critical collectors, race course and Dupaul area roads, the construction of durbar grounds at New Takoradi and the Kojokrom- Tarkwa railway line.
These projects had financial contributions from others sources apart from the support from the Annual Budget Allocations Funding from the oil funds
It was observed that while some of the projects experienced variations arising from change in scope and thus project duration, others were bedeviled with the prompt release of funds from the central government.
Mr. Sampson Tetteh, the Regional Urban Roads Development Engineer, took the team to inspect roads within the Anaji and Dupaul enclave.
He said the project had witnessed some 76 percent completion.
Mr. Patrick Awuzah, the GHS Estate manager who took the team round the holding centre, said the project completion had delayed because of the lack of regular funds from sponsors, ”the project was to have been completed in 2022.”
At the Railway training school, Mr. Michael Addison, Chief Civil Engineer, told the team that all planned deliverables at the locomotive workshops had been completed and waiting for handing-over to the company for use.
The facility, comprised seven sheds but for now, two which were commissioned together with the UMAT training school in Essikado were operational.
Professor Yakubu Issaka, the founding Dean of the UMAT Railway training school, noted the need for the facility to be retooled to fit the purpose of the modern day engineering syllabus.
He said, the training school with an initial intake of 200 now has a population of over 2000 offering various programmes in engineering which called for expanded infrastructure and workshops to meet the learning needs of the students.
