Establish delayed payments law - gov’t told

Rockson Dogbegah, chairman of local construction firm Berock Ventures, has asked government to establish a law to curb delays in paying contractors for works done.

He said this will ease the financial challenges contractors are thrown into when their clients, especially government, fail to honour their obligations on time.

“Government should establish a delayed payments law so that once you owe me money within a certain time, by law, it automatically starts yielding interest. That is one way of ensuring efficiency, avoiding bribery and corruption, and ensuring speedy cash flow,” he said.

Even though such a clause could be part of the terms of a contract, Mr. Dogbegah said beyond the conditions, one needs the enabling environment that ensures debtors make their payments on time.

“The sustainable way to go is to have a building and construction industry security of payment act; that is what we need. That is how other countries have dealt with delayed payments.”

He worried that at present clients do not charge contractors for delayed construction, while most contractors also fail to charge interest on delayed payments, adding that this results in a lot of uncompleted projects across the country.

But a lawyer who spoke to the B&FT on the practicability of the proposal said it is a matter that is already settled in the legal rules of contract, adding that every contractor is entitled to claim whatever amount is owed him plus interest and damages in court.

“The problem is that most local contractors are not prepared to take government to court over payments because they know they’ll continue to depend on the state for contracts. This mischief is therefore their own creation,” said the lawyer who preferred not to be named.

Mr. Dogbegah admitted that some contractors do not sue government over claims for fear of being blacklisted or victimised, while others do not even enter into proper contracts with the state before taking up jobs.

He charged the government to develop the local construction industry through a strategy that empowers local players.

“We cannot close the door to foreign investments, but when the foreigners come we must insist that they have local representation -- not just in name but in reality. All this must be monitored visibly for everybody to see.”

He also advised local construction firms that in order to build trust with their clients, they need to educate themselves and to appreciate the relevance of excellence and professionalism.

“The lack of trust is as a result of the shoddy works, buildings collapsing, and laxity. If you uphold the virtues of excellence and professionalism, it will show. Berock Ventures, for example, has its projects running based on a high degree of excellence and professionalism, so the projects speak for themselves.

As the Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) Africa, Mr. Dogbegah said the organisation advocates excellence. “What CIOB has been doing is to advocate excellence in service delivery as far as built- environment issues are concerned. We promote professionalism. We speak about the fact that it doesn’t pay to do shoddy work.

“We also sensitise service providers in the construction industry to make sure that the right services are provided. There should be value for money. Issues about health and safety should be respected. Where there are policy gaps, we speak about them and engage stakeholders to appreciate the need to have the right policies to grow and develop the industry.”