Chief Executive of the Chamber of Construction Industry, Emmanuel Cherry, has launched a sharp rebuttal at the Ranking Member on the Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, following his recent comments about the government’s indebtedness to road contractors.

Mr. Cherry said contractors have been struggling for years due to delayed payments, yet politicians who ignored their pleas are now acting concerned.

According to him, contractors have taken huge loans to pre-finance projects and are now drowning in debt while financial institutions also suffer.

“I am very happy to hear the Ranking Member now saying contractors are suffering. Since when did they know? Let’s put politics aside—whilst we were calling on them to come to our aid, they ignored us. Now that they are in opposition, they want to cry?” he asked.

He criticised a new government directive requiring contractors to resubmit IPCs and contract documents dating back to 2015, noting that it has caused chaos at the Ministry, leaving many contractors confused and crowded at the premises.

“Go and see what is happening at the Ministry. The place is crowded. Surprisingly, most contractors are not even aware this exercise is ongoing,” he lamented. “If you don’t have someone on the ground to alert you, especially if you are far away in another part of the country, you risk being excluded entirely.”

Mr. Cherry argued that the current turmoil is a consequence of what he described as poor contract administration inherited from the previous government, which left many contractors in limbo.