The Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry (GhCCI), Emmanuel Cherry, has asked the government to outline a payment plan that will help it offset the over 10 billion cedis owed to its members.
He says, for seven years now government has not been able to pay money owed to contractors after work was done, and this is crippling the activities of local contractors.
Speaking to the media, Mr Cherry says, the Chamber will take the next line of action after meeting with the Finance Minister.
According to Mr Cherry, the debt government owed the contractors had been in existence since 2016 adding “This does not include interest and other associated costs.”
“This debt includes roads fund, COCOBOD, consolidated fund as well as Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund). We’re even being charitable because if we should log all together with interest upon interest on delay payments, it will be more than that. So just imagine, government owing contractors such portfolios, you can imagine what it can do for the economic fibre of the country,” He said.
According to him, government has tried settling some of the debt portfolio from its books but its minimal in the lower side.
Mr Cherry noted that local contractors and professionals in the country mostly undertake 90 per cent of works awarded to expatriates. He explained that contractors need government’s empowerment through the financial machinery, mechanism and methodology.
“If we should go into these construction works that are being done by the expatriates, almost 90 per cent of the work is being done by local contractors and our professionals. So we have the requisite technology that we can do, all we need is the government’s empowerment,” He added.
Mr Cherry called on government through GETFund, Ghana Road Fund and Ghana Cocoa Board to make payment plan available to the contractors, consultants and suppliers for them to schedule project execution to reduce agitation and forestall negative perceptions of the principle of first come first paid method adopted.
