Road contractors with fake certificates will be prosecuted – Minister
Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta, the Minister of Road and Highways, says road contractors found guilty of possessing fake certificates will face the full rigours of the law.
“It is worrying that a contractor will enter the Ministry and within an hour obtains a classification certificate. Some of the certificates have forged signatures of the Minister and the Chief Director,” he noted and said such people would be dealt with.
The Minister gave the caution when he met the executives of the Association of Road Contractors, Ghana and the Progressive Road Contractors Association to address issues in the sector.
The Minister pledged to include representatives of the Associations in a Ministerial Advisory Committee and committed to resolve their outstanding challenges.
Mr Amoako-Atta said he was aware that some staff of the Ministry had formed agencies and competed for jobs, which was illegal, stressing that it would be in the best interest of such individuals to desist from the act or resign.
“I have warned my staff against such acts and that any person found culpable will face the law. The country cannot develop with such an attitude, we need to be sincere and do the right thing,” he added.
The Minister said his office was inundated with so many certificates to sign every day and upon thorough investigation, he found that most of the documents did not meet the required standards for certification.
To address the issue, he said the Ministry had reviewed its processes and introduced the re-classification of certificates, where contractors were to re-apply every two years for certificates.
The Minister, in 2021 inaugurated a reconstituted 10-member road classification committee to ascertain the ability of contractors to execute projects in the country.
The Committee, he said, would further be responsible for grading contractors as well as empowering them in undertaking road projects in the country to ensure value-for-money.
The Committee’s mandate is to relook at the road classifications in the country to ensure the highest standards against mediocrity.
Mr Amoako-Atta said the Government had started paying monies owed road contractors and asked those who had not received theirs to remain calm.
The Government has announced 2022 as the third “year of roads” and said work would commence on nine new major road projects in parts of the country.
In January 2021, the Government pledged its commitment to bridging the road infrastructure deficit in the country and prioritise road construction to ensure that a significant number of kilometres were tarred in the country.
The Minister also inaugurated a nine-member Premix Concrete Committee to check the spillage of premix concrete on roads.
He charged the Committee to executive its work without fear or favour.
Mr John Afful Junior, the National President of Association of Road Contractors, Ghana, stated the willingness of the contractors to work with Government to address issues in the road sector.
Source: GNA