Transportation Ministry to sanction organiser

Back (lead) April 26/2008

Story: Charles Benoni Okine

THE Ministry of Transportation has warned that it will sanction engineers of the various departments found to have endorsed certificates of road contractors who undertake shoddy jobs.
It said the government could not afford to waste taxpayers’ money on unsatisfactory work done by unpatriotic road contractors, with the connivance of engineers.
Dr Richard Anane, the sector minister, sounded the warning when he spoke to the Daily Graphic about measures being taken to ensure that taxpayers got value for money when road projects were undertaken.
The warning comes in the wake of complaints about shoddy work on roads in many parts of the country as a result of poor supervision or what is seen as a connivance between engineers and contractors.
The Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), the Department of Urban Roads and the Department of Feeder Roads are the three major agencies under the ministry that oversee the construction of most of the country’s roads.
Dr Anane said the ministerial committee that was set up some time ago to monitor the activities of road contractors was still in force and indicated that some contractors had been blacklisted for consistently undertaking unsatisfactory jobs.
“But we realise that upon careful thoughts, it is the engineers who go to certify their works and we need to ensure that they do not go scot-free ”, he said.
Dr Anane said some of the engineers had been warned in the past while a few had been sanctioned, but noted that this would have to be rigorous to ensure that they discharge their duties with vigilance, tact and more professionally.
He said in spite of the bad nature of some roads which was the result of poor supervision on the part of engineers, many others that had been done satisfactorily.
Dr Anane said the engineers who supervised work that had been satisfactorily done deserved commendation and asked them to keep up the good work.