Aggrieved contractors for the Publics Works Department (PWD), which falls under Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, are demanding immediate payment of monies due them to enable them pay their creditors.
The contractors, according to flawless information available to this reporter claimed they had not been paid for the past six months after completing works on the renovation of ministers’ bungalows ?which was awarded them by PWD.
Sources close to the contractors disclose that checks at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning reveal that the sector Ministry, being Ministry of Water Resources, Works and housing has not forwarded payment details to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning for payment to be effected after issuing certificates of payment to them some months ago; but surprisingly, Ministry of Water Resources, Works and housing has also claimed to have forwarded payment details to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning for the payment to be effected.
The contractors are wondering why the two Ministries have decided to play games with them over something that rightly belongs to them.
However, information emanating from the irritated contractors indicates that they can no longer sit and wait after several attempts for the sector Ministry to pay them have failed, while their creditors are, to all intents and purposes after them to collect loans they took to execute the projects on behalf of the PWD.
According to them, they have exhausted all the means available to them for the retrieval of monies they have used to pre-financed the renovation of ministers bungalows last year, hence the only option available to them is to embark on a series of demonstrations with their families and friends to register their protest.
According to them, they find it difficult to even sleep in their homes due to the persistent pressure from their creditors who are mostly, the banks. This reporter had witnessed how assets of some of these contractors were confiscated over non-payment of loans they acquired from some financial institutions with hefty interests.
What the government must understand is that, these contractors are in business to survive; they are not supposed to be incurring unnecessary debt. They don?t work for the banks, and must not be forced to do so. They want to enjoy what they have worked for, and not giving it to the banks as a result of delays of payments.
