By Dennis Peprah, GNA
Sunyani, (Bono), July 17, GNA – The Ghana Accountability Forum (GAF) has called on the government to take decisive action against contractors delaying the execution of various road projects, under the ‘Big Push’ road infrastructure programme.
The forum is a group of civil society organisations which have come together and are working to promote accountability in governance.
In a statement issued and signed by Mr Raphael Godlove Ahenu, the Convener, the forum called for the conduct of a nationwide performance audit of all the ‘Big Push’ road contracts going on in the country.
“The government must also publish the implementation status of every project for public scrutiny”, a copy of the statement made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani demanded.
It said that the nation ought to enforce contractual performance benchmarks on the programme devoid of political interference as well as issue warning notices to contractors who consistently fail to meet agreed milestones.
The government must also terminate contracts of persistently non-performing contractors and reassign those road projects firms with the technical and financial capacity to complete them.
It maintained that accountability ought to apply equally to contractors and supervising agencies, saying that road infrastructure development remained central to national progress.
“Delayed road projects affect education, healthcare delivery, trade, tourism and investment”, the statement indicated, saying that: “Citizens deserve value for money from every cedi invested in public infrastructure”.
It called on parliamentary oversight committees, the Ministry of Roads and Highways and relevant state institutions to strengthen monitoring mechanisms to ensure that contractors working on the ‘Big Push’ delivered quality works and within the agreed contractual timelines.
The statement expressed concern that: “despite repeated assurances that the government has adopted a pay-as-you-work policy and has cleared outstanding payment certificates for contractors, several of the road projects across the nation continue to experience slow progress”.
That is causing severe hardship for commuters, businesses and local communities.
“President John Dramani Mahama recently stated that the government no longer owes contractors working under the Big Push initiative”, it recollected.
The statement said that: “If the government has indeed paid contractors, then there can’t be justification for poor performance and delays”.
It raised concerns that many major road projects had witnessed ‘little visible progress’ for several months, despite under the Big Push initiative, arguing that the continued delays were imposing enormous social and economic costs on ordinary citizenry.
“Motorists travelling on deteriorating roads continue to spend longer hours in traffic, consume more fuel due to poor road conditions, incur higher vehicle maintenance costs, and face increased risks of road accidents”, it added.
Commercial drivers and transport operators had also repeatedly complained that the poor state of roads has significantly increased operating expenses, which are ultimately transferred to passengers and businesses through higher transport fares.
The statement noted that: “farmers transporting food from rural communities are also bearing the consequences of delayed road construction, as poor road networks increase transportation costs and contribute to post-harvest losses, thereby affecting food prices in urban markets”.
It acknowledged the government’s commitment to investing in road infrastructure, however, stressed that effective contract management was equally important.
The statement concluded that restoring public confidence in the ‘Big Push’ initiative required not only increased investment, but also firm enforcement of contract conditions, transparency in project implementation as well as greater accountability across the road sector.
GNA
Reporter: Dennis Peprah/George-Ramsey Benamba
Email: [email protected]