The CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industries, Emmanuel Cherry, has weighed in on Roads and Highways Minister, Kwame Governs Agbodza’s recent remarks, urging contractors to meet quality expectations or risk losing their contracts.
Reacting on Channel One Newsroom on Sunday, April 20, Cherry said while the minister’s call for quality is valid, it must be matched by a commitment from government to pay contractors promptly when they meet project standards.
“If the minister is saying that if you do shoddy work, he’s not going to pay you and terminate the contract, it’s enshrined in the document. So therefore he needs not to even say it. The document is there to dictate,” Cherry stated.
He continued: “The same applies as he is vehemently championing this, he must also prepare that if a contractor is also able to do good quality work he must also pay on time.”
Cherry emphasized that delayed payments continue to cripple the operations of many contractors, some of whom pre-finance projects with loans under tight timelines. He urged the Roads Ministry to uphold fairness in the enforcement of contract terms to ensure contractors who uphold their end of the bargain are not financially punished.
His remarks come amid renewed government rhetoric on enforcing standards in road construction under President John Dramani Mahama’s administration.
