The Delta State government on Thursday said it may begin to prosecute contractors who carry out sub-standard road projects in the state.
The Commissioner for Works in the state, James Augoye, who revealed this in Asaba during a meeting held with contractors in Asaba, noted that the state government will slam three years retention period on contractors.
Augoye said that the state government was contemplating this so as to ensure that taxpayers in the state get value for their money on the investment.
The Works Commissioner who was accompanied by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Peter Mrakpor, lamented that despite the huge sums of money invested by the state government on road construction, taxpayers hardly got value for their money.
The Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Peter Mrakpor, said failed roads never spoke well of the state government, adding that engineers who approved such roads would henceforth be prosecuted.
“If a road fails within one year, have we gotten value of our money? That is why we have decided that any road which fails within a short period of time, the contractor will come back for repairs at his own cost” he asserted.
After much negotiation to reduce the retention period from a proposed five year period, both Commissioners appealed to the contractors to deliver projects that would stand the test of time, adding that the retention fee would be paid in percentages after practical completion of the project.
The State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Ocheja Ameh, who also spoke at the event, appealed to contractors to involve the Corps in construction work in any part of the state to ease human and vehicular movement.
