NAME AND SHAME LOCAL CONTRACTORS

OVER THE PAST few weeks, the ministry of Public Works has been at loggerheads with local contractors over the slow pace of road construction in several parts of the country..

IN RECENT MONTHS, we have heard stories of contractors failing to complete road projects and complaints from a handful of others lamenting the fact that the government is only giving contracts to foreign firms.

JUST THIS week, Public Works Minister Samuel Kofi Woods took resident engineers to task and demanded that development and infrastructure projects must meet a certain degree of standard irrespective of the nomenclature associated with the project.

ACCORDING TO WOODS, projects implemented by both the Ministry of Public Works and its partners should be in line with required standard set or be stopped.

WOODS WARNING comes amid what many are suggesting is the apparent lack of ability by local contractors to perform.

WHAT THE MINISTRY of Public Works should be doing is naming and shaming those local companies that have failed to deliver on projects, keeping developments at bay.

WHILE WE encourage and are impressed that the ministry is looking to get local contractors a shot in the arm, this endeavor must not compromise the development agenda of a post-war nation.

AS IT TURNS out many of these local companies not only lack the capacity but some misuse the funds intended for the road projects at the detriment of a nation on the rebound.

NAMING AND SHAMING is the way forward and the only language strong enough to ensure that development projects are put in the hands of the right people capable of doing the job. If this means having foreign companies doing all the work, then so be it. But local companies must realize that they have to step up to the plate if they intend on winning more contracts to improve our roads and infrastructures.