THE chiefs and people of Chiana, Kayoro, Katiu and Nakong, as well as their counterparts from the eastern part of the newly created Kassena-Nankana We

Story: Nana Konadu Agyeman, Koforidua
17/03/08
Lack of funds and irregular supply of chippings are said to be adversely affecting construction works on the Affordable Housing Projects off the Akwadum Road at Koforidua.
The 2,805 housing unit project, being developed on 106 acres of land, will comprise 1,056 two-bedroom apartments and 1,523 single bedroom apartments, all contained in four-storey buildings.
When completed, the project will have facilities such as clinics, shopping centres, a post office, a community centre, a police post, schools, churches and mosques to meet the standard of a modern community.
Some of the contractors working on the multi-million dollar project aimed at alleviating accommodation problems facing workers in the New Juabeng Municipality, expressed those concerns when the Daily Graphic visited the project site on Wednesday.
The contractors, who spoke to the Daily Graphic on condition of anonymity, mentioned lack of funds and irregular supply of chippings by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, as a major cause for the delay of the project.
According to them, at least between 100 and 200 housing units were to have been completed within six to eight months after the sod-cutting ceremony in June 2007, by the then Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang.
However, they said, due to the lack of funds and scarcity in the supply of chippings, progress of work on the project had slowed down, a situation which they noted, had led to the steady rise in the cost of the project.
Besides, some of the contractors also expressed their displeasure at the delay in the payment for work done at the various stages of the project, making it almost impossible for them to purchase materials such as cement, sand and water, which were not being supplied to them by the government, as well as pay their workers on time.
“Majority of us have secured loans from the various financial institutions to undertake this project and as a result of the delay in payment of certificate for the work done, we find it difficult to go for more loans from the banks,” some of the contractors pointed out.
They added that the interest accruing on such loans had made it impossible for them to pay back and complete the project on time.
“Increase in the price of building materials such as cement, sand and water, as well as labour force, has also made the cost of the project higher than the original cost of the contract we had earlier signed,” said one of the contractors.
The contractors, therefore, appealed to the government as a matter of urgency, to release more funds and ensure prompt supply of chippings to facilitate the early completion of the project.
During the visit by the Daily Graphic, it was observed that after nine months into the commencement of the project, only a handful of the units had gone beyond the lintel level, while majority were still at the foundation stage.
At the time of the visit, only a few of the units were seen being worked on by workers, who were mixing and casting concrete for the first floor, while others were raising pillars and laying the foundation.