'Until we see money, no work resumes' – Road contractors to Akufo-Addo

Road contractors working on major roads across the country have served notice that they will return to the various construction sites to proceed with work only when they receive notification that the money owed to them has been deposited into their accounts.

Their comment follows President Nana Akufo-Addo's statement that many of the country's stalled projects will soon resume, thanks to successful negotiations regarding the restructuring of Ghana's debt.

Speaking at the presentation of credentials to nine newly appointed diplomats at the Jubilee House last Monday, the President detailed the positive outcomes of the negotiations and their implications for Ghana's development.

He said the completion of three major debt restructuring operations—the domestic debt restructuring, the external bilateral debt restructuring, and the commercial bondholders' debt restructuring—had provided much-needed financial relief and set the stage for a renewed focus on critical infrastructure and development projects.

"These agreements have provided the much-needed breathing space and put our domestic debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio on a clear downward trend," President Akufo-Addo explained.

"The successful negotiations mean that bondholders will provide $4.4 billion in cash flow relief during the IMF Programme, in addition to the cancellation of $4.7 billion of the debt stock," he added.

But the National Vice Chairman of the Road Contractors Association of Ghana, Stephen Kwaku Attatsi, in an interview with Daakyehene Ofosu Agyemang, Morning Show Host of New York-based Adinkra Radio, stated that contractors will not be swayed or excited in any way by the comments.

He added that they don't consider the President's statement as good news until they see money hitting their accounts to get them back to the site to work.

"There is nothing called good news until what you are expecting you have in your hands. If money is available, why can't I go to the site? I am a businessman and not an NGO; I am a profitable organization, and I pay tax. So if the government releases money today, why can't we go to the site? We will go."

"We welcome the whole thing, but construction is a very high capital-intensive work. Some projects take two years to complete, others take 18 months. I don't know what we are going to do until a change of administration comes. This is not the first time we are hearing such promises from the government, unless they prove us wrong. 'Money na hand, and we will resume work.' Until the government releases money to us, we are not moving to the site to resume construction of roads."