Work on Teshie Link Road stalls over non-payment of funds

• PIAC team inspecting portions of the Teshie
link road in the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly

Work on the 7.5-kilometre Teshie Link Road, in the Ledzokuku Municipality, has been suspended due to non-payment of funds, an inspection by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has revealed.

Awarded on October 18, 2019, the dual carriageway project had an original contract duration of 18 months, with original contract summing up to GH¢87,883,590.

Out of the sum, the petroleum revenue of GH¢29,738,282.92, representing 33.84 per cent, was disbursed to the project from 2019 to 2021.

“PIAC believes that the co-mingling of petroleum revenues with other funds for projects that end up getting stalled for a long period does not reflect the prudent use of revenues for impact.

The Committee, therefore, urges the government to consider channeling adequate petroleum revenues to complete earmarked projects going forward,” a statement issued by the PIAC said.

The PIAC was informed that the contractor had suspended work when a team from the Committee inspected the project and others funded with petroleum revenues in the Greater Accra and Central region.

A statement issued by the PIAC said the inspection was in line with its mandate of conducting an independent assessment of the management and use of petroleum revenues to ensure maximum impact.

The inspections in the Greater Accra and Central regions took place simultaneously, with the PIAC team in Accra led by the Chair, Emerita Professor Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandorf.

The team was accompanied on the inspection by officials of the Department of Urban Roads of the Ministry of Roads and Highways, and the Ledzokuku Municipal Assembly.

The statement said work on the Teshie Link road involved the construction of a new road and drainage structures, with earthworks and asphaltic concrete surfacing but as of the time of PIAC’s visit, 95 per cent of all drainage works had been completed, and asphaltic binder and wearing course laid on the road.

According to PIAC, the outstanding works include the installation of traffic signals and road markings to show a controlled intersection.

Other projects inspected in Accra were the rehabilitation of selected roads in Teshie Camp, Southern Command and Ghana Military Academy, and the construction of a flyover over the Tema Motorway from the Flowerpot roundabout.

The contract for the rehabilitated roads, a car park, and a parade ground within the Southern Command in Teshie project was awarded on July 13, 2020, with a contract sum of GH¢145,821,272.91, including petroleum revenue of GH¢7,394,185.51, representing 5.07 per cent, which was disbursed to the project in 2022.

It was supposed to have been completed within 24 months, however, as of the time of PIAC’s visit, the project was 24 per cent physically complete.

On the construction of a flyover over the Tema Motorway, out of the revised contract sum of GH¢284,665,639.27, a total of GH¢141,093,766.84, representing 49.56 per cent, was disbursed from the ABFA in 2022.

At the time of PIAC’s visit, the project had made physical progress of 70 per cent.

During the Central Region’s inspection, it was discovered that apart from the irrigation infrastructure at Mprumem the Anomabo Fisheries College and a 90-bed Hostel Block at Saltpond, all the projects partly funded with oil revenues had not been completed due to delayed payments to contractors.

BY JONATHAN DONKOR