Tema wharf contract terminated
The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has terminated a contract it had with FNB Investments (GH) Limited, a private company, to reconstruct the net-mending wharf at the canoe beach of the Tema Fishing Harbour with immediate effect.
Advertisement
GPHA will also execute a performance security and take steps to initiate legal action against the contractor to retrieve any payment made in advance to him.
This follows a publication in the Daily Graphic of November 13, 2013, which said that work on the wharf had come to a standstill and materials and equipment abandoned on site posed danger to the fishermen and the public.
So far, the GPHA has paid GH¢3.9 million of the project cost of GH¢5.5 million to the contractor.
Notice of termination
According to a ‘Notice of Termination of Contract’ addressed to the FNB Investments (GH) Limited, the contract was awarded on November 18, 2012 for a contract period of eight months.
In exercise of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority’s Right Clause 15.2 of the Contract, the contract of FNB Investment Limited was terminated with effect from January 28, 2013.
The FNB (GH) Limited has accordingly been requested to contact the Project Engineering Department of the GPHA by November 22, 2013, for inspection and valuation of works to determine actual work done.
GPHA
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Public Relations Manager of the GPHA, Ms Joana Adda, explained that the decision was taken following the inability of the FNB to make use of all the opportunities granted it to complete the work.
She said failure to execute the work had disadvantaged the beneficiaries of the project, the fishing community, and also incurred the displeasure of the GPHA.
The net-mending wharf and the canoe basin project at the fishing harbour were meant to support artisanal fishing to help improve the livelihood of the fishing community.
The story in the November 13, 2013 issue of the Daily Graphic said fishermen at the Tema canoe beach were furious because of the contractor’s inability to complete the work on the fish-mending wharf.
Nii Odameteh, a chief fisherman, who spoke on behalf of the fishermen, appealed to the GPHA to re-award the contract to a more efficient and hardworking contractor to complete the work and help the fishermen achieve their objective.
Meanwhile a visit to the canoe beach yesterday revealed that the contractor had removed the submerged excavator from the sea and dumped it on the abandoned wharf but there was no representative of the contractor on site to answer any questions.