By
Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA
 |
| Excavators dredging the Odaw river. |
The Chief Executive of Engineers and
Planners Company Limited, Mr Ibrahim Mahama, has refuted allegations that his
company had been awarded a contract to dredge the Odaw River in Accra and
stated that the company was rather providing its services for free and that he
was not expecting any reward for the work.
He explained to journalists during a
tour of the Odaw River last Friday with the Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah,
and the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Collins
Dauda, and his deputy, Mr Nii Lante Vanderpuye, that it was in partnership with
the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) that Engineers and
Planners were undertaking the dredging of the Odaw channel of silt.
The tour by the Chief of Staff and
the two ministers was to afford them a first-hand experience of the extent of
work that had been done on the dredging to be able to determine the next line
of action.
According to Mr Mahama, the
government was supplying the needed equipment as well as fuel for the work,
while his company was providing the technical expertise and personnel needed
for the job.
He said the branding of the
equipment being used with his company’s name was for accountability purposes to
ensure that every equipment in their possession was well accounted for at all
times.
He added that all the vehicles in
use had also been insured “so that if it kills anybody, gets burnt, gets stolen,
we are covered. That is why we need to put our stickers on them. Stickers don’t
mean ownership. Stickers just mean who is using it and that is why we put them
on the equipment”.
In interactions with journalists, he
said although the company was providing free services, the value of the work
being done could be pegged at GH¢150 million, while the equipment that had been
made available by the government had a total value of about GH¢30 million, out
of which just about a sixth part was in use when the journalists visited.
Mr Mahama said there was so much to
be done that the dredging could take as long as one year and six months,
although work had been going on both day and night every day of the week.
“It is actually a day and night
operation to be able to hasten the job but the job is not a small job. The job
likely could take a year and likely could take a year and a half but we are at
it and government is supporting us with equipment and fuel and our contribution
is the personnel and the supervision of the job.
“This is just a tip of the iceberg.
The worst of the problem is what is behind the Vodafone building towards
Alajo,” he told the journalists, adding that during the day the work rate was
about 60 per cent but rose to 100 per cent at night because there was no
traffic then.
He said the total depth of the Odaw drain was between six and eight metres but
at certain places the silt had taken as much as four metres, therefore impeding
the smooth flow of water.
Access
Mr Mahama explained that hitherto, the
debris from the drain was deposited just along the fringes and rose as high as
a wall alongside it, which had to be moved from there before work could
commence.
The dredging exercise has been made
easier as a result of the recent demolition of structures along the drain
embarked on by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) which has paved the way
for the movement of heavy equipment and trucks.
Mr Mahama said after clearing of the
mountain of debris by the side of the drain had to be compacted with soil and
stones to enable the heavy equipment and trucks to drive on or else they would
sink.
Alhaji Collins Dauda confirmed that
Engineers and Planners were doing the dredging for free, saying after the June
3 disaster the government “made an appeal to individuals, corporate bodies and
everybody to assist the government to address the situation”.
“As a result of the appeal we made, Engineers and Planners responded to assist
the government in clearing the debris and also assist the government to desilt
the channel behind us.
“As far as the Ministry of Local
Government and Rural Development is concerned, we don’t have any contract with
Ibrahim,” Alhaji Dauda reiterated, saying that there were other collaborators
such as the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), who helped in
clearing the debris after the June 3 floods.
“But in the case of Engineers and
Planners because of the expertise they have in this kind of job they accepted
to partner us in desilting the Odaw River and so as far as I am concerned we
only provide fuel for Engineers and Planners,” he stated.
He, however, said that owing to the
volume of work that was at stake, the government might not continue to rely on
philanthropy but sit back and “package this whole channel and see how we can
deal with it in a sustainable manner”.
Alhaji Dauda said as part of the
agreement in procuring the equipment, a company had been contracted to
undertake regular maintenance of all the equipment.
On
site
During the tour, the journalists
witnessed an excavator inside the drain busily scooping the silt onto the side
for a second excavator to put into waiting tipper trucks.
Mr Mahama said that had never
happened because of the depth of the drain but the operator was one of the very
few experienced in the country, hence his ability to do so.
Tipper trucks numbering about 10 and
other earth moving equipment were also seen on site during the visit. Currently
all debris taken from the Odaw drain is deposited at a dump site close to the
Korle Restoration Project site.
Writer’s email: edmund.asante@graphic.com.gh
This
story was first published by the Daily
Graphic on July 27, 2015
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