Minister say contractors are central to success of governments
Mr Joseph Amenowode, the Volta Regional Minister, has said the success or failure of governments depended on the performance of contractors.
“We talk and promise and you actualize our promises or nullify them,” he said at a day’s seminar for members of the Association of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors of Ghana (ABCECG) and the media on Thursday.
The seminar formed part of an advocacy project on the “Establishment of a Regulatory body for the Construction Industry in Ghana” being funded by the BUSAC Fund.
He called for capacity building for contractors in the Volta Region so that they could bid for and win contracts other than those of government and governmental agencies.
“The opportunities are there but capacity is necessary to benefit from those opportunities”, Mr Amenowode said.
He said suspicion and mistrust were major obstacles that should be overcome by contractors in the region so that they could pull their resources together to win bigger contracts.
Mr Amenowode called on the leadership of the Association in the Volta Region to maintain close working relations with the Regional Co-ordination Council and persist in the pursuit of their objectives.
Naana Justine Mensah, Consultant of the Advocacy Project, stressed the need for ABCECG to forge close working relations with the media to gain visibility and achieve its corporate goals.
Mr Edward Amanor, President of the ABCECG, said a regulatory body was necessary to streamline and enforce adherence to standard practices among all players in the sector.
“We are requesting for a change in the way we work”, he said in reference to all stakeholders in the construction industry.
The participants suggested that the Association establish its own bank to avoid frustrations regarding access to and high cost of finance.
They called on the Association to establish regional training centres for members and eliminate SSNIT and Tax conditions as pre-tending requirements.
They said those conditions often led to financial losses to contractors who failed to secure contracts for which they had tendered.
Participants observed that a regulatory body for the industry would help eliminate unqualified contractors whose performances damage the image of the Association.
Source: GNA