Government should tell shylock banks to wait-Contractor

Sunyani (B/A) Oct. 22, GNA - A Sunyani-based building contractor, on Tuesday called for the immediate intervention of the government to end the harassment of contractors by banking institutions.

Mr. Frank Opoku Adjapong, Managing Director of Interbegamon Company Limited, a construction firm, who made the call through the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani said: "because some of us have not been able to pay back loans taken to pre-finance government projects, some of the banks have resolved to cripple our businesses"

He explained some then contracted the loans to undertake projects in 2004 and some of them had not been able to repay the loans due to the government's inability to pay contractors for work done. Narrating his experience to the GNA, Mr. Adjapong, who is vying for chairmanship of the NPP in Brong-Ahafo, said he won a contract for the construction of a semi-detached teachers' bungalow for the Busunya Senior High School in the then Nkoranza district and renovation of the Sunyani coronation park in 2004.

He said the National Investment Bank (NIB) gave him a loan of GHC 10,000 to undertake the projects which he completed in 2005. "After completing the projects, the Sunyani Municipal and the Nkoranza District Assemblies have not paid me even a pesewa out of the amounts of GHC 7,800 and GHC 6,000 they owe me respectively", Mr. Adjapong said. "As a result the NIB has put pressure on me demanding GHC 40, 000 because of the interest since 2004", he said.

Mr. Adjapong stressed that: "I was even negotiating with the bank through my lawyer so that I can get a deadline to settle my debt, but all of a sudden some officials of the bank together with some police personnel came to my shop on Monday, October 19 and seized my personal Mercedes Benz vehicle".

"The bank has also threatened to close my shop", Mr. Adjapong said and appealed to the government to consider the plight of contractors and pay them for their work done so that they could repay loans. Mr. Adjapong appealed to the banking institutions especially the NIB to waive part of the interest saying, "it is not the intention of any contractor to refuse to pay his or her debt". 22 Oct 09