Kumasi, Oct 15, GNA - Mrs Ama Serwaah Dapaah, Executive Director of the Social Investment Fund (SIF), on Wednesday told contractors working on SIF projects to desist from attempting to influence officials of the fund in order to win additional contracts.

She said one cardinal principle of the SIF project is transparency and that staff of the fund had been warned against receiving kickbacks from contractors who applied for projects.

Mrs Dapaah said this at a meeting with contractors working on SIF projects in Ashanti region in Kumasi on Wednesday.

The meeting was to enable the consultants of the project to brief the contractors on what is expected of them in the execution of the projects in order to prevent shoddy work.

Mrs Dapaah expressed concern about the situation where some contractors started mobilising both financial and material resources for projects immediately bids were opened and said bid opening did not mean contract had been awarded.

She said contracts are awarded based on the recommendations of the consultants.

Mrs Dapaah said about 832 projects are on-going in 45 districts while project proposals from 35 districts had been approved for work to begin soon.

She said 55 percent of the projects are on education while the rest are on health, sanitation and water.

Mrs Dapaah said strict monitoring systems had been put in place to ensure proper utilisation and recovery of funds made available to beneficiaries under the micro-finance component of the project.