Local Government Minister Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah has voiced his discontent with the construction quality at the Mallam Market in Accra, calling it “extremely poor.”
In a firm directive, he instructed the contractors to redo the project, emphasizing that the current workmanship was unsatisfactory and would not meet inspection standards.
“I wonder how anybody will do this and say it should pass for an inspection. I have asked the Chief Executive to take action on this. We need to immediately redo virtually everything; the entire thing as it stands is rejected. I don’t think we should let this pass for using government money,” Mr Korsah stated.
The Minister pointed out that subpar materials were utilized in the construction, which violates the government’s specifications.
He stressed that the government had funded high-quality work, and if inferior results are produced, the contractor must bear the responsibility.
“The government will not bear a pesewa out of this shoddy work done. Not in my ministry. So whoever didn’t make good use of the government’s money would have to find money and do it,” he added.
This issue emerged during the Minister’s visit to Accra markets on Thursday, July 18, where he assessed the condition of market sheds and centers in the region.
In response, the contractors have defended the current state of the market.
Dr. Andrews Kwablah, Chief Executive Officer of MKA Consult and supervisor of the project, clarified that the site posed considerable challenges.
“This is a very difficult site. To begin with, it was a mushy area that had been recovered. The recovery was done before we came, and they used refuse, so you are having decomposition of the refuse down there, on top of which we put a gravel cap to put up the structures,” he said.
Dr Kwablah also disputed the claim that inferior materials were used, stating that “lab tests were conducted on the materials before their use.”
“So you may see a material that may not look good to you, but depending on the lab test result, you then conclude definitely that they are not good enough,” he explained.
In the meantime, traders have already moved into the sheds.