A group of road contractors have reacted to recent claims by a former Board Chairman of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) that members were paying as much as a million Ghana cedis in bribes to get contracts.
Prof. Stephen Adei in an interview with TV3 said some officials were taking the said amount and that it should be a worry for the president amidst the fight against corruption.
The Ministry of Roads and Highways, subsequently referred the allegation to the Economic and Organized Crimes Office (EOCO) for investigation.
Reacting to the Ministry's move following the allegation, the group of contractors said in a press statement cited by the state-run Daily Graphic newspaper, "we wish to state clearly that non of us have had any such experience. Road contracts go through a process until the award is given."
The contractors also welcomed the EOCO probe stating their readiness to cooperate when invited.
Read portions of the statement below:
"We have followed with keen interest discussions in the media space in respect of an allegation made by Professor Stephen Adei, a former Rector of GIMPA, to the effect that some contractors make upfront payments of upfront payments of GH¢1 million before the award of road contracts."
"We have also read a press statement from the Ministry of Roads and Highways indicating that the Minister has requested the Executive Director of the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to investigate the allegation."
"We wish to state clearly that non of us has have had any such experience. Road contracts go through a process until the award is given.
"The process is well known and transparent and consequently makes it very difficult for corrupt practices to prevail in the allocation of road contracts.
"We wish to allay the concerns of Professor Adei and the general public and emphatically state that no such bribes are paid for road contracts in Ghana," they added.
"We will like to state that the honorable minister has led the ministry with candor and professionalism. Not only that, but he has brought discipline to the roads construction sector and has deliberately built the capacity of local contractors to meet international standards for the purpose of relying on local capacity and ensuring true independence," they added.
They stated: "Notwithstanding the fact that we have been taken aback of these allegations, we, as part of the community of Road Contractors, shall support the work of any investigative body to bring closure to these allegations. We shall therefore standby to assist EOCO if and when invited."
The group of contractors who endorsed the press statement are 1st Sky Ltd, Maripoma Ent Ltd, Justimoh Construction Ltd, Resource Access Ltd, Kasmo Co Ltd, Oswald Investment Ltd, Ussuya Gh Ltd., Volta Impex Ltd and Limerica Gh Ltd.
Others are Doncross Ltd, Joshop Gh Ltd, General Construction Ltd, Hardwick Ltd, Kofi Job Construction , Menphis Construction Ltd, Mawums Ltd, Kingspock Ltd, Kingdowsco Co Ltd, Nagfairmont Gh Ltd and New Modern World Ltd.
SARA
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File photo of a road construction