Vice President Aliu Mahama on Friday received a report on facilitating the access of local contractors to World Bank-funded and other donor-funded projects and said it would reverse the situation that made foreign firms gain 60 per cent of the 1.4 billion dollars spent on infrastructure.

The amount was spent between 1996 and 2000.

He said improving the capacity of local construction firms to successfully compete for major projects would create wealth, jobs and help the national economy to grow.

Vice President Mahama, therefore, tasked the Ministries of Works and Housing, Roads and Transport and Finance to speedily consider the 55-page report and make recommendations for Cabinet to take the necessary action.

He said: "This issue is of high priority to the government because we desire to localise our economy. We have to help our local firms to grow. Their managerial and other capacities must improve to make them competitive."

The Vice President commended the seven-member committee tasked with the assignment for a good job done and the World Bank for supporting the initiative.

"The issue must be of interest to our development partners because when our firms become competitive it would reduce our reliance on them," he said.

Dr Richard Anane, Minister of Roads and Transport, said his Ministry with the other relevant agencies, would push forward the laudable agenda.

Dr Thomas Fokuo Agyapong, Chairman of the Committee, said with consultations from many experts and stakeholders, the Committee examined the issues confronting contractors, identified their constraints and potentials and made suggestions to address them.

The Committee, Dr Agyapong said looked at the criteria for qualifying for road, building and other projects and assessed the equipment holding of contractors, staff strength, assets, and their training programmes for personnel.

It also examined their finances, delays in the payment of jobs executed, business practices and the packaging of contracts.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Johannes Twumasi-Mensah, Chairman of the Association of Road Contractors, said the major constraint in his area was meeting the high annual turnover set as a major criteria.

"They demand between 100 million to 200 million dollars as turn over, and this amount, I believe is even difficult for the government to raise, let alone a local firm," he said, adding that the threshold affect other criterion like equipment holding and staff strength.

Mr Twumasi-Mensah, however, stressed that Ghanaian contractors were competent to execute major jobs, saying when the foreign firms win they utilise mainly local expertise for their jobs.

He cited the Accra-Nsawam road, which was executed by Swedru Contractors about 22 years ago, saying that asphalted road which became eligible for rehabilitation quite recently attests to their competence.

Members of the Committee were from the Ministries of Works and Housing, Finance, and Transport and the World Bank. The Committee, inaugurated by the Vice President on 17th January 2002, co-opted other members to assist them.