Kwasi Amoako-Atta
THE MINISTER OF ROADS AND HIGHWAYS, Kwasi Amoako-Atta, has urged road contractors to ensure that they place value on the funds voted to them by the government for the construction of roads.
Addressing leaders of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry, the Association of Road Contractors and the Progressive Road Contractors Association, at a stakeholders’ engagement in Accra, the minister warned that any contractor who “cuts corners”, would have his contract abrogated without any hesitation.
“If there are sufficient grounds to suggest that you (contractor) are ‘cutting corners’, or that you don’t want to give the people of Ghana value for money, or that you are not doing the right thing as expected of you by your on-site engineer, that engineer will have my full support and backing, in my immediately terminating your contract, without any shred of fear or favour, in accordance with contractual rules as established.
“Road contractors should not expect officers of the ministry and its agencies to compromise on quality, just as contractors should also not entertain any fear to do the right thing and to expose wrong-doing by any officer of the ministry.
“It is like a two-edged sword, cutting both ways. Let us not fear one another, but rather, be honest to ourselves, and to one another, while working for the best interest of the people of this country. At the end of the day, if there is any praise, you and I will receive it mutually,” the minister said.
“I would like to urge contractors who are our stakeholders, to be bold and not be afraid of anybody, in the clean performance of their work.
“We are all in public office and public offices must be used solely for public good. Any office that we occupy today is not our personal property,” the minister noted.
“I am a minister today, but by the evening I may no longer be in that position. Position is not possession.
“If I do something wrong bring it up. The type of President that we have today is an incorruptible, no-nonsense President. If I, the Minister, I am not heeding your advice, please bring it up to the attention of the President, and I can tell you, I will be removed.
“He wants contractors to also expose engineers who demonstrate bad behaviour towards them, and assures us that such officers will be dealt with accordingly,” the minister concluded.
By Ernest Kofi Adu