Koforidua, May 14, GNA - Mr Albert Abongo, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing on Thursday advised members of the Association of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors of Ghana (ABCECG) to re-organize and form joint ventures.

That, he said, would enable them to build their capacities and enhance their chances of winning bigger contracts to remain in business. Mr Abongo gave the advice in an address read on his behalf at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association in Koforidua. He said the government was aware of the poor equipment holding position of majority of members adding that the ministry would soon link it up with a plant and equipment firm for assistance in that regard. Mr Abongo said delays in payment for jobs executed and long administrative procedures had been a major concern to government and that currently a team had been put in place to look at that issue holistically and make the necessary recommendations. He said government saw them as partners in development and would therefore do all it could to support their activities.

Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Eastern Regional Minister expressed worry about the negative attitude of some local contractors which made it difficult for clients to entrust projects into their hands. He mentioned corruption, non-payment of loans, unnecessary delays in the execution of projects, non-compliance with building regulations and the rate at which contractors abandoned projects as issues that continued to create worries for government.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo assured members that the government was committed to ensuring that problems confronting them were minimized if not completely eradicated to ensure that the association functioned efficiently.

He said government was also initiating modalities to ensure that many were awarded to local contractors to serve as motivation for both registered members and other people wishing to join the construction industry. Mr Kwame Afreh, National President of the association said some of the challenges facing them included lack of confidence by financiers, withholding tax, retention of monies and delays in the payments for work done. He appealed to the government to ensure that monies earmarked for construction activities in the Municipal and District Assemblies were released to their financiers. Mr Afreh urged government to ensure that its procurement plans were consistent with available financing for the particular year. 14 May 09