Abugiss flats under lock and key - Teachers commute from Accra, Koforidua to school

A fully completed residential building for teachers of Aburi Girls Senior High School (SHS) has been abandoned for the past four years, following the contractor’s refusal to hand over the project.

While some staff of the school continue to bear the brunt of the closure, the contractor insists that he needs to be paid additional money to enable him to complete the work.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) Secretariat, the financier of the project stated categorically that it did not owe the contractor.

Officials of the secretariat showed the Daily Graphic a schedule confirming the full payment and explained that consistent with every contract, the financier holds a retention against defects which would be paid to the contractor after the defect liability period had lapsed.

Sources at the Secretariat urged the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), which awarded and supervised the contract, to go for the keys to the building since full payment had been made.

Further checks with the Headmistress of the school, Cynthia Anim, for further clarification on the issue were unsuccessful as she declined to comment.

Contractor

The Managing Director (MD) of the Asumadu Construction Works Limited, who declined to give his name (but checks revealed he is George Asumadu) told the Daily Graphic on telephone that it was not possible to hand over the building to be used by the teachers because it was not fully completed.

He said he executed the project with a loan from the bank and that he had used the money the government paid the company to service the loan.

The MD of Asumadu Construction said he was, therefore, left with nothing to fully complete the works on the building.

Mr Asumadu appealed to GETFund to release extra money for the completion of the building.

Abandoned structure

When the Daily Graphic visited the school last Tuesday, it discovered that the 16-unit facility had developed cracks, while the roofing leaked badly anytime it rained heavily.

In addition, the surroundings were weedy, making it a habitat for lizards and snakes.

However, the Assemblyman for Aburi West Electoral Area in the Akuapem South Municipality in the Eastern Region, Daniel Asiama, made a passionate appeal to the government to intervene and assist the affected teachers who commute from Accra to Aburi as a result of the deadlock.

Mr Asiama was on his knees when he told the Daily Graphic that teachers living outside the school premises often contacted him to help secure them accommodation in Aburi town.

 “I'm on my knees to plead with the government to come to the aid of the school to compel the contractor to immediately hand over the edifice to the school", he said.

Mr Asiama said it was unfortunate to see teachers struggle to secure accommodation at Aburi to enable them to stay within the school to teach and supervise students.

Financial drain

One of the teachers, Seth Frimpong, who lives in a rented accommodation outside the school, said it had been extremely difficult for those of them staying outside the school - especially in Accra and Koforidua - to make a return journey after classes.

He said the government had done its part by providing the staff with accommodation, so the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, should as a matter of urgency, ask the contractor to hand over the building to the school.

That, Mr Frimpong explained, would lessen their burden.

Mr Frimpong, who has been teaching in the school for the past 10 years, disclosed that he had for some time now paid GH¢300 per month for a chamber and a hall accommodation in Aburi but currently pays GH¢850 a month for a two-bedroom and a hall apartment.

Mr Frimpong said the current situation was impacting negatively on teaching and learning, particularly during final year examination (WASSCE) periods where teachers, irrespective of where they stayed, would have to be in the school daily to supervise the students.

The 16-unit GETFund project was awarded on contract in 2016.

Writer's email: haruna.wunpini@graphic.com.gh