Judiciary Committee disappointed over delays on Wa Court Complex project

The Parliamentary Select Committee on the Judiciary has expressed disappointment over the slow pace of work on the Wa Court Complex project in the Upper West Region, describing the state of the facility as inconsistent with reports earlier presented to Parliament.

“What we were told in Accra is not what we are seeing here. All the members here will attest to that. We were told the work was 90 per cent complete somewhere in December last year, but we are now in the fifth month of the year and look at the state of the building,” the Chairman of the committee and Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkawkaw, Joseph Frimpong, said.

The committee visited the project site yesterday to assess the progress of work on the court complex, which has remained under construction for more than a decade.

The Daily Graphic team, which accompanied the committee, observed that workers were present around the building, but no active construction work was ongoing.

At the time of the visit the ground had not been paved. Washrooms remained incomplete.

Electrical wiring had been installed, but light fittings, ceiling fans and air conditioners were yet to be fixed.

The building also had no furniture in place.

Next step

Mr Frimpong said the committee would hold further discussions with the Judicial Service and the contractor over the delays and possible next steps.

“We are going to have another meeting at this court complex. By all means, we will force the contractor to come and deliver.

The uncompleted Wa Court Complex

This is state money,” he stressed.

Mr Frimpong also raised concerns over the absence of disability friendly features at the facility, saying public buildings were required by law to provide access for persons with disabilities.

Contractor absent

The Ranking Member on the committee and MP for Lawra, Bede Anwataazumo Ziedeng, said the committee had previously been informed that although work on the project had stalled, the facility was substantially complete and only awaiting payments on outstanding Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs) to enable the contractor to finish the remaining works.

“And so, we expected that after the payments were made, the contractor would complete the remaining works.

That is not what we have come to see,” he added.

Mr Ziedeng said even the main structure of the court complex remained incomplete despite earlier expectations that the building would have been furnished and ready for use by now.

“We even wanted to meet the contractor and let him tell us what he is capable of doing. But the contractor is not here.

He has conveniently avoided us, and that is certainly not fair,” he added.

Why the delays

The project consultant, Sylvester Dery, attributed the delays partly to late payments and a lack of approval for additional external works on the project.

He explained that the contractor took over the repackaged project around February last year and was expected to complete the work within 12 months.

Mr Dery said the original contract sum stood at about GH¢11 million, but external works, which were initially omitted, later added about GH¢7 million to the total project cost.

The consultant said the contractor had since made progress but faced challenges securing payment for the external works because approval from the Ministry of Finance had not yet been granted.

Mr Dery expressed optimism that the project could be completed within two and a half months once approval for the external works was granted and payments were released on time.