Road contracts are won on merit – Minister-designate

Alhaji Amin Sulemani, Minister designate for Roads and Highways, on Friday said road contracts were being awarded on merit and through the necessary procurement process.

Alhaji Sulemani said road contracts were not “groundnuts” to be shared to party contractors, adding that he did not have knowledge about contractors from political parties, seeking contracts from the Ministry.

The Minister designate was reacting to a question when he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for vetting as the presidential nominee for the Ministry on Friday in Accra.

He said that when given the nod, he would engage in public-private management of the sector with honesty, humility, and respect for Ghanaians.

Alhaji Sulemani said though the general condition of most roads was deplorable, Ghana was also constraint with money to repair them.

He said that the Ministry had already submitted to Cabinet a programme on private-public partnership, and would engage stakeholders for inputs to build roads that would be good enough to withstand the weather.

Alhaji Sulemani complained about shoddy work by some contractors, leading to the poor nature of roads shortly after completion of contracts.

He and promised to liaise with consultants and other experts on how to employ best and cheap technology in building of roads that could last long.

Alhaji Sulemani pledged to work hard and without discrimination towards the realization of the vision of President John Mahama.

He said efforts needed to be made to ensure that the country’s roads conformed to acceptable standards and that the Ministry has a roads training school and contractors could build their capacity there.

The Minister designate appealed to drivers to observe traffic rules, and said he would ask the Road Safety Commission to remove all broken down vehicles on the roads, to avoid accidents.

Source: GNA