Government must pay outstanding debt or we sue – Chamber of Construction

Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry, Emmanuel Cherry has threatened to explore legal action against government over debt owed to its members.

The decision comes after the Chamber last year served government with a 14-day ultimatum to repay all of its outstanding debt.

According to Emmanuel Cherry, the debt repayment follows contracts executed over a period by members of the Chamber.

In an interaction with Citi Business News, Emmanuel Cherry said failure on the part of government to repay or delay the monies has already taken a toll on the business operations of its members.

“That is what the chamber is coming to do now, because, we realized that if nothing is being done, the government agencies will take advantage and be doing this and the purse of the government will be bleeding all the time. Some of these monies that we are using for interest on delayed payment is of no need,” he stressed.

Cherry added that members of the Chamber have made calls to embark on a demonstration should their request be made dormant.

“We are only trying to see how best we can let cool heads prevail. Our people are agitating, they have been calling for a demonstration for a while now. But we have managed to cool them down for some time. And when you talk of contractors demonstrating, it is not just any ordinary one you see on the streets. They are going to block the roads with heavy-duty machines among others. If you owe a contractor, the effect trickles down to all spheres,” he added.