General News of Monday, 2 September 2019
Source: GFCL
The unpardonable rate of inconsistencies in the number of agitated contractors has been questioned by Ghana First Company Limited raising doubts about the contractors.
The recent standoff between the multinational waste management company and contractors who are building 14, 16, 20 type A, and 20 type B public toilets with paperless entry of payments, has attracted the attention of the vociferous Ghanaian media forcing the company to throw out doubts about the agitated contractors.
To Ghana First Company Limited, the contractors claiming the company is in to scam them are only aiming at shooting the indigenous company down despite several questions popping up about who the contractors really are.
In a document sighted by homeradioghana.com and addressed to the Local Government Ministry and Ministry of Sanitation, the aggrieved contractors quoted their number as 200 contractors who have not been paid for 60% of work done on the projects.
In a publication by starrfmonline.com, the spokesperson of the aggrieved contractors quoted their number as 130 throwing several doubts about their actual numbers.
Following their laud calls in the media, the company invited the contractors for a round table meeting aimed at ironing out the differences and finding an amicable solution to the impasse.
Strangely, and shocking to the company the contractors were only 37, and not the 200 tabled to the Local Government and Sanitation Ministries or the 130 as reported in the media.
Homeradioghana.com gathers that the contractors upon meeting the leadership of Ghana First Company Limited for the round table meeting called for only the 37 to be paid and not all the contractors despite claiming they were fighting on behalf of all of them.
When asked, the CEO of Ghana First Company Limited Frank Akulley described it as a shameful development "that tells you the people are not even credible."
"It's a shame for the people claiming to have been scammed to have their numbers swinging.
"In one case they are 200, in another they are 130 and when we met them, they were 37," he said.
"Is this not shameful," he asked in an interview with homeradioghana.com
Despite the strange calls of the contractors, over 60 of them have benefited from the Financial Assistance Program of the company receiving between ?40K and ?310K to support the projects.
"Shockingly, some of them took the monies to buy cars and some sponsored their wards with the money to travel outside the country.
"Strange, isn't it? These are the people we are dealing with.
"The monies were given to assist them complete the projects but they chose to do something else with them," he added.
Mr. Akulley then revealed how his outfit was shocked when they went on inspection and realised some of the contractors even choose to site the projects at different locations instead of the original locations given by the MCEs and DCEs.
The PRO of the aggrieved contractors Yaw Tawiah Dickson had said the contractors were made to believe that they just had to raise the structure, provide roofing and outside plastering to pace way for the automation, but even that many of the contractors have failed to do, let alone complete 60% of the work done.
While the contractors are inciting the public against the company, leadership of the outfit are still open to help them complete the project by offering more financial assistance to those who will solicit for it.
The credibility of the aggrieved contractors has been thrown into huge doubt following their attempt to sneak in to claim cash from the leadership of Ghana First Company Limited ignoring the other members.