Former Roads and Highways Minister, Inusah Fuseini has dismissed claims that the Ministry he superintended overpaid some road contractors in excess of 25 million cedis in 2016.
The Tamale Central Member of Parliament (MP) said payments were made based on certificates raised by the Ministry's engineers after assessing the work performed by the contractors.
“It cannot be that a contractor will be paid twice [because] the documents you will use to support payment are the same documents the people will rely upon [at the Finance Ministry],” he said.
Mr Fuseini was reacting to the Auditor General’s 2016 report which revealed some questionable transactions at the Roads Ministry, leading to an overpayment of some ¢25million.
The report showed that instead of ¢75,053,875.39 quoted to be the total debt owed some 24 companies as at December 31, 2016, the Chief Finance Director at the Ministry paid ¢100,679,315.28 prior to the end of 2016, representing an excess payment of GH¢25,625,439.89.
Each of the companies was found to have received more money than was due it for the various services they discharged to the state.
(a) Anastasia Company (GH) Limited was paid ¢1,840,545.48 instead of ¢853,069.41 for bitumen surfacing of the Gwollu-Jeffisi Feeder Road.
(b) G.S. International Developers GH Limited which rehabilitated some selected roads and Motorway was given ¢7,810,886.32 instead of the actual ¢2,619,495.60 debt owed it.
(c) Justmoh Construction Limited which provided an emergency Asphaltic overlay of some selected roads was owed ¢175,343.24 but was paid ¢21,572,095.68.
The Auditor-General has directed the Roads Ministry to initiate the process for the recovery of the overpayment after it rejected the claims.
But speaking on Joy FM's Midday News Wednesday, Mr Fuseini said what may appear as an overpayment to the Auditor-General was interests paid on the debts owed the contractors.
"It is not overpayment. If you sign for execution of work and the contract stipulates when the payment must be done, if it is not paid the money accrues interests," he said.
The Auditor-General may have an issue with the documentation at the Roads Ministry but the money paid was not an overpayment, he emphasised.
"Payment will not arrive or start and end at the Head Office of the High Roads Ministry [but] 90 days after execution [of work] you don’t expect that the contractor will receive the same amount," he said.
Source: JFM/Ghana
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Remember this Fuseini guy went to school for free under Nkrumah policy.... and look at what he has done to his country as a minister..... Corruption and greediness will finish the NDC. You give out ghost contracts and share the money among yourselves.... Remember the Auditor General was appointed by greedy John Dramani Ford a few days to leaving office and the guy has exposed your ev!l deeds and you are ru.b.b.ished his reports......... Martin Amidu will surely come for you soon.
OKAY OOH I SEE THAT'S WHY YOU PAID SHATTA WALE GHS100,000 TO PERFORM AT YOUR COMPAIGN RALLY.IT WAS MONEY FROM OVER PAYMENT.MAHAMA GOD WILL PUNISH YOU.
You approve payment for some work done, you don't get confirmation from the Ministry of Finance that the payment has been effected, yet you put it down that you still owe. And you have the nerves to defend this. What garbage is this?
Gwulo to Jefisi road was only reshaped. The former Minister should cross chech.I work and stay in Sissala West.
So this man is not even ashamed to say it is interest on the actual money to be paid,Oh God please have mercy on our my land Ghana,All this block headed people called them self leaders.
People are stealing Ghana money and you are talking of Northerners. Look Northerners have MARTIN AMADU and he is coming like KAKAI
Inusah Abdulai Fuseini have you forgotten the loan facility of GHS100 million you took without the board approval and no documentation about it, time will tell.
@cool, your mother has wasted her big vagîna by giving birth to you
we have given you free education and now the nation is paying for the price.go and pay for your debt and leave the nation at peace.
Isn't this the guy who was showering money on a musician? In fact northerners are taking for granted by the few who had made it to the top. I feel very sorry for you all. If I were to be a northerner I will cry. You had a president from the north ruling a country for some years and could not transform the lives of his own people. John Mahama are you not ashamed of yourself? Look at the Kayaye's.I am very angry that the same people who blow tribal inequalities are same people when given the opportunity will misuse their chance and then later begin to cry foul about the development disparity between the the south and the north. I am not saying that all the state resources should be given to the north but at least a little priority to improve the lives of your own kinsmen. I am getting too much emotional about these few northern politicians, Very wicked and selfish greedy bastards. Inusa Fuseini, John ***barred word*** Mahama. Shame on you all.