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The Member of Parliament (MP) for Suhum, Frederick Opare-Ansah, has urged the government to prioritise work on the Accra-Kumasi highway.
The road, which is the main link between the capital city and the northern part of the country, was started during the Kufuor administration, but till date, work on the project has not been completed, leading to complaints from motorists and influential people including the overlord of the Ashanti region, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, about the discomfort to road users.
Speaking to Class News, Mr. Opare-Ansah attributed the delay to failure by government to provide funds to the contractor.
“The contractor has done his part, he is supposed to work, and then he raises certificates, then you pay him and he uses the money to go and do more work, and he comes back, you pay him for what he has done. He has done his work, he has given you the certificates, you have cross-checked and you are saying you don’t have the money to pay him”, he stated.
The lawmaker argued that the contractor cannot be blamed for leaving the job and advised that government release money for the completion of the project.
“He [contractor] cannot continue staying in the country for 49 months with his staff, so, he left and you have not paid. So, the solution is to prioritise the project and make sure that it receives the necessary attention and payment of outstandings, and find a way of bringing back the contractor to continue the works on it. The solution is not to change the contractor because if you take a new contractor, you will still pay the old contractor what you owe and you will still have to find money to pay the new contractor to work”.
“Every year, budget allocation is made for Common Fund [and] GETFund, but these are even statutory funds and even those ones, as we sit today, government owe Common Fund for 2014, and government is not supposed to owe Common Fund for even one-quarter, it’s a breach of the constitution, so, if they are breaching the constitution you think they will not breach a contract?” he asked.
