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Mr James Gunu, Akatsi North District Chief Executive (DCE), has called on the works engineers of assemblies to ensure that contractors do not “short-change” the people with shoddy works.

“Our engineers must help in executing development projects by [monitoring] contractors to ensure government funds are not wasted,” he said. 

Mr. Gunu said this when residents of Nudowukope, a farming village, turned down a new three-unit school block been handed over to them by the Assembly on Monday, demanding that the contractor be recalled to correct visible defects on the building.

A four seater K.V.I.P which is part of the project was, however, accepted by the community. “The [period] when contractors cut corners to make illegal profit are getting over as communities are doing social auditing of projects,” Mr Gunu said. 

He said the engineers must be on the project right from day one, assessing the quality of blocks, iron rods and making sure all stages of projects were up to standard.

“We only observe and complain of poor finishing of project, forgetting that the worst might have taken place from the foundation [level], and this is not good for a country with scarce recourses”, he said. 

He said they were some unpatriotic contractors who will always try to cut corners but such schemes would fail when the engineers are alert. Mr Gunu, commending the village for their vigilance, said the assembly had “long written to the contractors, Vidfost Construction Company Limited, to return to the project.”

He said the alternative was for the Assembly to abrogate the contract and engage another contractor for the correction with the outstanding project costs. Mr Peter Dorsese, Assembly Member for the area, said the poor quality of doors, windows among others was unacceptable. 

The Nudowukope Basic School had stood for some time as a community facility before the Ghana Education Service absorbed it. It is among 10 schools benefiting from a pilot school feeding programme the assembly is financing on its own.