Akufo-Addo’s new government must focus on paying local contractors – Construction Chamber

The Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry says it expects President Akufo-Addo’s government to prioritise paying local contractors for executed projects

Emmanuel Cherry is the Chief Executive Officer of the construction chamber and according to him addressing this challenge will significantly help in building the struggling local construction industry.

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As we speak now there is a challenge that has bedevilled the construction sector in terms of delayed payment. And it comes with its own repercussions; interest upon in interest on delayed payments which is not inuring to the benefit and growth of the country. Already the country purse is sinking and this is adding more to it. So the players of the industry are thinking that according to the contract term, the first thing the ministers must look out for is to quickly see how best they can mobilise funding to clear all our outstanding liabilities of the contractors so that we start with a clean sheet. If not, the more it keeps in the books the higher  the interest and the quantum also goes up and the country suffers at the end of it all.”

The chamber has over the period expressed its displeasure with the government over persist delay in paying its members for contracts they have implemented.  It had recently threatened to go to court over the issue while some of its members warned that they will have no other option than to close down buildings and block roads they have constructed as the government has failed to pay them.

The chamber laments that the government owes its members in excess of 1.8 billion dollars and has made no efforts to redeem the debt.

Source: CitiBusinessnews.com