Gov’t to release $1bn to settle debts owed road contractors – Road Minister

The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Attah has assured contractors working on road projects but have not been paid that, they will receive their letters by next week.

He said President Nana Akufo-Addo has directed the Ministry of Finance to pay $1 billion to contractors working on road projects.

According to him, the government since assuming office has paid over GHc4 billion to contractors.

Speaking at a workshop organized by the Ministry of Roads and Highways at Ejisu in the Ashanti region, he appealed to contractors to continue working with government and assured them of receiving their monies.

“Since coming to office, the government of President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo has paid over 4 billion Ghana cedis and the evidence is clear for anybody who cares to know. We want to assure all contractors in this country that the government will like to announce that the president [has] directed the Minister of Finance to give one billion United State dollars to my sector to make payment of all outstanding and delayed road payment,” he said.

He also indicated that his ministry is looking at ways of getting other sources of funding to support road projects.

He stated that the ministry is putting measures in place to ensure that toll both funds are well managed to derive the expected revenue.

A report by the parliamentary committee on roads and transport had shown that the government still owes road contractors more than GHc 3.69 billion for projects financed from the consolidated and road funds.

Although the government has paid over GHc2.2 billion of the funds in arrears, the delay in settling the outstanding debt according to the contractors is affecting the construction industry.

In February the Association of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors of Ghana called on government to take pragmatic steps to honour its campaign promise pertaining to unpaid Ghanaian contractors.

Somewhere around September last year, members of the Association of Conscientious Public Sector Contractors, threatened to sue government next month over their unpaid salaries.

The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) contractors said they are yet to be paid for work done in schools since 2016.

They had earlier threatened to embark on a demonstration exercise but had to rescind their decision after government’s promise to pay them off.