Ken Ofori Attah, Minister for Finance, has exposed contractors for conspiring to steal from the state whenever there is a new government.
Mr Ofori Attah disclosed that some contractors take advantage of the change in government to submit dubious certificates of works, which could not be proved, for payment.
The dishonesty of some these Ghanaian contractors, he noted, has contributed to the leakages in the state coffers.
Suddenly you are all at my door with certificates for some jobs you have executed, for which you have not been paid, as if I do not want to pay he opened.
Minister Ofori-Atta expressed concern over the piles of certificates that have flooded his office from contractors, with some dating as far back as 2013. He further expressed disgust at the attitude of some the contractors, who think he (Minister) was under obligation to pay them.
According to him, the contractors sometimes behaved as though this government contracted them, and has, thus, failed to pay them.
The Minister, who said this at the maiden edition of a National Policy Summit, which opened in Accra yesterday, was responding to questions on the issues of the delay in paying contractors.
He observed that if contractors would blame the government for conspiring to pay them, then they are also part of the plot saying, "government cannot pay for some false contracts."
He wondered why, for instance, a contract certificate issued in 2013, would be signed in December 2016, "and how sanctimonious is such a contract?"
Continuing, Mr. Ofori-Atta said: "I think we all have to give ourselves space and find a decent way of addressing this conspiracy," he said demanding that both government and contractors reconsider the financial harm they are plunging the country into, through such dubious contract approaches.
Calling for an immediate change form that rot, the Minister said the government was bent on protecting the public purse. Ghana spends more than it generates, the Minister said, and that the challenge the country's economy is faced with would be halted under the Akufo-Addo-led administration.
"We are stopping a lot of the approaches that did not get Ghana to work. This government is on course," hes aid.
The National Policy Summit was to provide a platform for government ministries, departments and agencies to engage stakeholders in their operations.
The two-day summit, which ens today, May 16, is under the theme: 'Building Partnerships for Growth and Jobs,' and is expected to help the government elicit feed-back to enhance further policy development.
Source: The Chronicle
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The truth today in Ghana is that everybody is a contractor ; all illiterate educated thiffs and non educated contractors ; untrained people call themselves road contractors and what they do is use their party connections to get contracts and sell the contracts ; these results in poor and shoody work by these fly by night contractors ; what training in contrauction or engineering did Ibrahim Mahama get but the man because he is a sibling of JOn Mahama got lucrative contracts and even used state equipments to do the work and was paid .
Lets intercede for this man. I am reminded of the late Baah Wiredu and what he also set out to do with all his heart just for Ghana. Some are in this only for this tummies God will reign.
PLEASE MR. MINISTER, CALL IN THE POLICE ON THESE NATION WRECKERS,PERIOD. BECAUSE THEY ALL KNEW THE PERSON AT THE TOP WAS AT IT, THEY WERE DOING THEIR OWN THING AT THEIR CORNERS. THERE WAS NO DIRECTION AND CONTROL IN THAT ADMINISTRATION. IT WAS OPEN FOR ALL ***barred word***. PLEASE NAME THEM AND SHAME THEM. A BUNCH OF ***barred word*** BRIGADE PARADING AS A POLITICAL PARTY.
I thank God that now Ghana is naked so whoever tries to dupe the nation will be seen. change is good.
God bless Nana Addo and God bless u Ken Offori Atta for having the interest of the people of this nation at heart and not the few greedy and nation wreckers interest. If we had u earlier, woyome wouldnt have duped the nation the way he and the ndc t'h'i'e'v'e'''s did.