A new six-unit classroom block at the Brosankro Methodist Primary School in the Tano South municipality of the Brong-Ahafo Region, which was financed with oil money, is defective, barely two years after its completion.
The project, which was started in 2015 under the erstwhile Mahama administration, was completed in a year, despite an 18-month schedule.
In spite of the building costing the nation GH?297,290, it was poorly constructed, with its floor coming off, doors and frames falling off and the ceiling leaking badly.
Members of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), an independent statutory body mandated to promote transparency and accountability in the country’s management of petroleum revenues, made the discovery during project inspection exercises in the Brong-Ahafo Region.
“We find serious defects with the job that was done. Indeed, barely two years of completion, we see floors worn out, challenges with ceiling, doors and frame coming off,” Chairman of the Committee, Dr Steve Manteaw, stressed.
According to him, information available to PIAC indicated that the building was constructed without furniture and blackboards.
This situation, he indicated, is unacceptable and pledged the committee’s preparedness to take up the defective issues for redress by the appropriate authorities.
“One reason we find for this shoddy work is the fact that the school itself was not involved in the selection and supervision of this project,” Dr Manteaw stated and added that the municipal assembly suffered the same fate.
He wants the contractor, Messrs Rolat Enterprise Limited, to be surcharged for whatever it costs to rectify the defects, assuring the school management that he would carry the issue forward.
Bright Amankwah, head of the building section of the Works Department of the Tano South Municipal Assembly, said the Assembly raised concerns about the quality of work done and insisted that the errors should be rectified before final payment was made.
According to him, before the Assembly realized, the contractor had been paid without addressing the defects and that the school is now falling on it (Assembly) to rectify the defects in the structure.
Earlier, the head teacher of the school, John Ali, said the school management was unable to provide safety assurance for the block because of the number of defects found.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Bechem