General News of Tuesday, 25 September 2018
Source: citinewsroom.com
2018-09-25
GETFund contractors say they are yet to be paid for work done in schools since 2016
Members of the Association of Conscientious Public Sector Contractors, have threatened to sue government next month over their unpaid salaries.
The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) contractors say they are yet to be paid for work done in schools since 2016.
They had earlier threatened to embark on a demonstration but had to rescind their decision after government’s promise to pay them off. However, Secretary to the Conscientious Public Sector Contractors, Samuel Ofori Kuma, has told Citi News they are yet to be paid despite the agreement, thus the decision to go to court.
“We have not received any communication from GETFund that our monies are in. We are interested in getting our monies with interest. We have asked our lawyers to look at that. Our information from the lawyers indicate that the courts are on recess so we are hoping that by the end of October, our lawyers should be heading to court.”
GETFund contractors abandon projects over salary arrears
A few weeks ago, some GETFund contractors undertaking various projects at the University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyani also abandoned the projects over the non-payment of their salaries.
The government has been aware of the indebtedness to contractors with even the President assuring that all debts will be cleared quickly.
During his media encounter to mark his first year in office, President Nana Akufo-Addo had said that his government had settled most of the arrears owed contractors which were accrued under the previous administration.
“I’m being urged to pay contractors, I’m paying them. In 2017, nearly one billion cedis of which the government of Ghana provided three hundred odd million and the Road Fund provided some 660 million of the 1.6 billion owed road contractors was cleared. In January this year, we have dispersed 125 million out of the remainder of 600 million to the contractors,” Nana Addo said.
“Additionally, we have paid 826 million of the 1.2 billion loan contracted by the previous administration for which the Road Fund was used as collateral. It is important to note that all these debts were accrued under the previous administration. I will also point out that much of the statutory arrears that we met have been cleared,” the President said.
But the head of the contractors at the time, Daniel Tanoh, responded by saying many of the claims that had been submitted for payment had not been honoured.
“GETFund contractors do not agree with what the President said. It’s not true that GETFund has paid even one-fourth of what the President said. For that reason we disagree with what the President said. The Ministry of Finance is supposed to give money to GETFund to pay contractors. As I speak, since July 2016 till date, those that have placed their claims to GETFund have not received their payments,” he said.