Chairman of parliament’s Roads and Transport Committee, Theophilus Tetteh Chai has admitted the failings of his Committee to protect the public purse in the execution of government awarded road contracts.

The Speaker of the House, Edward Doe Adjaho had expressed his disappointment following a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the construction of the Achimota-Ofankor road.

The project which begun in 2006 at an estimated cost of ¢40.2 million increased to ¢128 million as at the time the PAC met on the matter.

The Speaker blamed the Committee for failing to undertake its oversight duties resulting in the cost overruns.

He acknowledged arguments made on the floor of Parliaments by both sides that there should be sanctions, then rebuked the Committee for their failure to raise the red flags when the expenditure for the project kept rising over the years.  

"They recommended that the budget and subsequent budgets for the project to be approved. They have failed the House and the House has also failed the people," the Speaker said. 

In reaction, the chairperson of the Committee admits the Committee failed to do the proper due diligence but says the overrun occurred also because of a government failure back in 2006.

"If you look at the project itself, you would realize that it started at a time that the government itself wasn't ready for the project. There were problems with issues of procurement, designs had to be changed as the projected proceeded," Mr. Chai said.

He said that clearly shows that there was no proper planning thus the increase in the final cost of the project as a result of changes in design and delay payments among other things.