The Association of Building and Civil Contractors of Ghana (ABCCG) on Monday accused the Regional Co-ordinating Councils (RCCs) and district assemblies for ''lack of transparency and nepotism in the award of contracts.''

It said the practice by the RCCs and the assemblies to award projects through selective tender and not competitive bidding was 'totally unacceptable, disgusting and scandalous'.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Ashanti Region branch of the Association at the end of its general meeting in Kumasi at the weekend.

The Regional Chairman, Mr Kwame Afreh and the Regional vice-Chairman, Mr Opoku Agyemang Prempeh, signed the statement.

''Those to whom jobs are being dished out in almost all cases tend not to possess the capacity, competence and equipment for efficient project execution.''

"It is regrettable that the mistakes of the past, which resulted in shoddy projects all over the country are being repeated''.

The statement said the ''Association expected that with the new political administration, the practice where contracts were the exclusive preserve of cronies of the big men was going to change but it appears we got it all wrong''.

The Association said it was surprised that its members who had been in the construction business over the years and had the expertise to ensure that quality work was done, continued to be sidelined when it comes to job awards.

"We find it a bit odd when the RCC and the assemblies come to us and ask for help to trace quack contractors who are unknown to our association after their poor performance on projects awarded to them."

The ABCCG called on the government to act firmly and decisively to bring about some level of sanity into contract awards so as to promote efficiency in the construction industry