A road engineer has emphasised the need for government to empower local road construction firms to develop the requisite capacity to enable them to compete favourably with their foreign counterparts for contracts. Describing as grossly unfair the time-honoured system where indigenous contractors, plagued with inadequate funds and equipment, are made to compete with their foreign counterparts who usually have adequate capital and equipment for jobs, Mr. Patrick Okoto, a senior engineer of the Ghana Highways Authority, remarked; "The system is not beneficial to the local contractors in particular and the nation in general". Speaking during a media tour of the Sefwi-Bekwai-Eshiem Asankragwa road currently under re-construction, Mr. Okoto, who is the resident engineer of the project, said as a first step, Government must endeavour to pay the contractors on time emphasising that without that "and in the absence of government support, there is no way the indigenous contractors can compete with their foreign counterparts for big projects". He referred to the eagerness and willingness of governments to prefer foreign contractors, especially Chinese firms, and said the only reason was that those firms submitted very low bids. "The secret, however, is that with the Chinese firms, for instance, they are state supported directly by their government while Ghanaian contractors bid in their own feeble strengths." That, Mr. Okoto said, was why indigenous contractors "will always be pushed to the periphery to scramble for small jobs adding that Government, whether NDC, NPP or whatever must support indigenous contractors to develop and build their capacities to go in for big jobs. "It is these same local contractors on whom every government relies upon to create jobs and whose taxes are badly needed to expand the economy," he said, adding "whereas indigenous contractors create permanent employment opportunities and retain profits in the country for expansion and development of their companies, the foreign ones create temporary jobs because they usually wind up after their contracts and repatriate their profits". Mr Okoto did not spare local contractors who perform shoddily, blaming some of them for placing wealth acquisition above a good track record of excellence in performance. "These companies give local contractors' a bad name, though a great many of them are really good." For instance, he said, Midwest Contract Works Limited, a local construction firm engaged on the upgrading of the 56 kilometre road had so far performed very well. "With 100 per cent local staff, expertise and requisite equipment, the company is doing exactly what the foreign firms are doing and if given the chance, it can do better than what some of the foreign firms are doing," he stated. Describing the company as hard working, dedicated and ready to learn, Mr. Okoto said it had, as part of the first phase of the project, completed concrete and earth works on a l0-kilometre stretch and commenced the primer sealing component. Mr. Godfred Andoh, managing director of the company, appealed to the government for more jobs and commended the Minister of Roads and Highways, Joe Gidisu, for his determination to support local contractors. He was also full of praise for the Amalgamated Bank (AMALBANK), Shell (Ghana) Limited, Toyota (Ghana) Limited, and Mantrac Limited (Africa Motors) for their invaluable contribution towards the development of the company and 'bringing it this far". Source: The Ghanaian Times