Upper West Regional Minister guarantees payment of stalled GETFUND project contractors

The Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, has promised to facilitate payment of contractors working on Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) projects stalled in Nusrat Jahan Ahmadiyya College of Education in Wa.

He said his office would follow up to the GETFund Secretariat to ensure the contractors were being paid to enable them to return to the site for the resumption of construction work.

He gave the assurance on Saturday in a speech read on his behalf during the fourth congregation of Nusrat Jahan Ahmadiyya (NJA) College of Education where about 359 students graduated in various fields.

A 25-year-old blind student, James Yelsong, was among the only three graduates who came out with first class.

The college has six departments covering languages, science, education, mathematics, social studies and technical with about 41 teaching staff and 40 non-teaching workers.

Construction works on the teacher training college’s auditorium, lecture hall complex and student hostel complex initiated by GETFund have been held up for more than one year due to non-payment of contractors.

“I assure you that my office would make the necessary follow-ups to the Secretariat to facilitate the payments of the contractors to return to site,” Dr Bin Salih said.

“I know that when these facilities are completed it would go a long way to facilitate academic work and ease the pressure on the current facilities which are currently being overstretched” he added.

The pledge followed concerns raised by Hajia Asma-U Ismail, the Principal of NJA College of Education, about growing infrastructural deficit was a challenge to the College in addition to three abandoned projects.

She appealed to government to intervene to mitigate the situation for smooth academic work go on.

“Our situation as a college in terms of infrastructure is not anything palatable. We have three major projects which have been stalled,” she said during the graduation.

The ceremony was witnessed by representatives from University of Cape Coast - the College’s mentor institution, Alhaj Maulana Noor Mohammed Bin Salih, Ameer and Missionary in-charge of Ahamidiyya Mission in Ghana as well as officials from the National Council for Tertiary Education and other colleges of education.

The College is also challenged with lack of a technical workshop, broken fence wall, tutor bungalows, insufficient lecture hall furniture and streets that are unfriendly for the blind.