According to Emmanuel Cherry, the chief executive officer of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industries, the government’s failure to pay contractors’ debts is to blame for the local economy’s shaky condition.
He claims that as of September this year, the government owed contractors roughly $10 billion.
At a news conference in Accra, Mr. Cherry stated that there are currently 10 billion Ghana cedis in arrears.
Even with the figure, we are being kind.
Sincerily, the total amount would be higher if we were to add the interest on interest from delayed payments.
“So just imagine, government owing contractors such debt portfolio, see what it can do for the economic fiber of the country. so the reason why people are crying that there’s no money is because government has failed to pay contractors,” he stated.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Chamber of Construction Industries further noted that all unpaid contractors were poised to take legal action against government for them to receive their due.
He also called on government to announce how much proceeds from the E-Levy has been pumped into infrastructure development.
Meanwhile, government in August this year announced that it will terminate the contract of contractors who fail to meet the deadline of the Agenda 111 project.
He indicated that contractors must ensure that the timelines spelt out in the contract were met.