Contractors engaged by Ghana First Company Limited – a waste management company – have said they were misled into believing that the construction of modern toilet facilities across the country was a scam.
They have, therefore, made a U-turn to pledge their support for the government’s effort to improve waste management and sanitation by helping Ghana First to complete its projects.
At a news conference in Accra on Friday, some of the contractors whose spokesperson is Emmanuel Dapaah, Chairman of New World Contractors Association of Ghana, said they had come to the realization that the project is a good one and would help in solving the sanitation problems of the country to a large extent.
They called on the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to support them to acquire the necessary documents to undertake the projects.
According to the contractors, they have an agreement with the MMDAs to construct the sanitation facilities; however, documents supposed to be released by the MMDAs to facilitate credit for the projects are not forthcoming.
“We were able to understand certain issues and there is peace between us and the company. It is not a scam as earlier projected in the media, but we need the government to support Ghana First so they can pay the contractors,” Mr. Dapaah stressed.
After a meeting with the New World Contractors Association that resolved a misunderstanding over payments, Frank Akuley, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana First Company, the private partner of the project, said, “They promised to submit the land title document within four months because we are going to use it to secure funding from the bank. But to date we have not received any land title from these assemblies and that is our worry, so we are appealing to the authorities to talk to them to enable us get the document to get the money to complete the projects.”
The Ghana First Company Limited, under a Public-Private Partnership with the government, is constructing 10,000 units of modern automated toilet facilities across all metropolitan, municipal and districts around the country in a Clean Ghana project.
The company subsequently engaged other contractors to work on the project in order to meet project timelines; however, members of the association claim they are yet to be paid although the project is ongoing.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri