Michael Kumah addressing the media.
Over 20 quarry companies at Shai Hills in the Greater Accra Region have given the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) a seven-day ultimatum to reverse its directive to construction firms in the country not to use aggregates from Shai area or face legal action.
According to the companies, about 2,000 workers are likely to be laid off due to the directive by GHA.
The directive was captured in the contract for the execution of the Tema Motorway Roundabout Project.
It stated “where there is danger in a particular combination of aggregate, particularly those containing amorphous and fine grained silica such as opal, tridymite, cristobalite and volcanic glasses in some quartzite, strain quartz, granites and meta sediments and cement giving rise to a harmful alkali-aggregate reaction, the particular combination shall be tested.
“When tested for potential alkali-silica reactivity in accordance with ASTM C 1260, C 227, C295 and C289, the aggregates shall be non-reactive. Aggregates from the metamorphic source of the Shai area shall be excluded from all major concrete structures.”
However, research into aggregates from Shai by three local and international independent bodies has proved otherwise.
An analytical report by the Ghana Standard Authority, which was signed by the Daniel Vincent Arthur, Testing Director and Head of Engineering Department, also refuted the assertions of GHA.
A test conducted by EIFFAGE, an accredited testing laboratory based in France, also debunked the claim of GHA.
Research by the University of Ghana also corroborated that of EIFFAGE.
These developments have encouraged the quarry companies in the Shai area to threaten legal action against GHA.
Addressing a press conference in Tema, Michael Kumah, spokesperson for the Shai Hills Quarry Association, stated that several workers would be sacked if GHA continues to sabotage quarry operators at Shai.
According to him, “We consider this as a complete sabotage by the Ghana Highway Authority to take our jobs because all tests have proved otherwise. We are only asking them to show us the lab test they have conducted that shows that quarry materials from Shai are not suitable for concrete projects.
“I can confidently tell you that the biggest construction work in the country, which is the Tema Port Expansion project, is using aggregates from Shai. Same materials were used to build the Tema Port, Tema Motorway, which are still in existence after many decades. The same materials were used for the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange and the Jubilee House. So what is the Ghana Highways Authority trying to tell us?”
He accused the authority of pursuing the interests of some individuals to the detriment of over 20 local companies contrary to the President’s vision of empowering local companies.
The spokesperson appealed to the Ministry of Roads and Highways to intervene in the matter to avoid any legal tussle and collapse of local companies, adding that “most of the companies came to our sites and told us that Ghana Highway said they should not use products from this area.”
Meanwhile, although Shai Hills is close to the Tema Motorway Roundabout Project site, materials are being sourced from Amasaman, as well as Kasoa in the Central Region.
From Vincent Kubi, Shai Hills