This situation was revealed by the vice chairman of the Association of Road Contractors in an interview with Akoma FM over the weekend.
Stephen Atatsi, its vice chairman, claimed that although the non-payment and lack of guarantee to settle the same was frustrating, it had a more serious effect on their ability to support themselves.
“Since 2018, government hasn’t paid a penny to us and owes us millions of dollars. The amount is as a result of delayed payment and accumulation of interest on certificates locked up at the sector ministry.
He added that the majority of them have been traumatised as a result of the members’ heavy debt loads from large loans they had taken out and the associated interest they now have to pay.
Others, he observed, had been admitted to hospitals as a result of despair and annoyance brought on by pressure from banks and other creditors.
“Some of the members are now living from hand to mouth because government has refused to pay huge amount of debt owed them. Some even cannot afford to buy their medical bills, so we are really going through a lot this is not fair,” he stressed.
In order to lessen the suffering and hardships that members were experiencing, particularly in light of the current economic downturn, he pleaded with the government to pay off the four-year debt.
E-Levy as a method of debt collection
The 2022 budget’s Electronic Transaction Levy was identified as a crucial revenue-generating strategy to aid in the government’s settlement of contractor obligations.
When addressing the leadership of the Road Contractors Association in February 2022, Minister of Roads Kwasi Amoako-Atta stated that when the E-Levy is put into place, a number of poor roads will be fixed.
“When the E-levy is implemented, the road sector will get its fair share. All contractors owed by the government will be paid.
“A number of deplorable roads will be fixed when the E-Levy is introduced because all contractors we owe will be paid. You are going to benefit directly from its implementation. No serious government will joke with its contractors,” he said at the time.
