By Septimus Senessie in Kono.
The director general of the Sierra Lone Roads Authority (SLRA) says “the 90-day ultimatum issued to Well Group Construction Company Sierra Leone Limited in April this year for the termination of the Koidu and Kabala township road works will expire on Thursday 18 July, 2013.”
Speaking to Politico on the phone from Freetown on the current position of the 25-kilomiter road project undertaken by the Well Group, Munda Rogers said Kono district had the longest distance of road maintenance – 20 kilometers – while Kabala had 5 kilometers.
“We are not satisfied at all with the quantum of jobs done by Well Group at those two project sites since they took it over from a Ghanaian construction company over one and half years ago,” Rogers lamented adding that the work was at a standstill.
He said they had written a termination notice to Well Group some four months ago expressing their unhappiness. He added that they were still unhappy with the “snail pace” at which the work was moving and therefore had to write a final termination letter which he says expires today, 18July.
He said they had dispatched assessment teams to the two sites and that if the company did not meet the benchmark set for them “we have no option but to bid them good bye.”
Asked about those benchmarks, Rogers only said it had to do with “the quantum of work that is being done on the work sites.”
News of the expiration of the ultimatum issued to Wells Group came two days after workers of the company said that they had stopped work for two weeks for lack of fuel for the machines and vehicles. One of the workers who spoke to Politico on condition of anonymity confirmed that they were on a sit-down strike for their January and June salaries which the company owned them.
Politico contacted the Guinean counterpart of the company to know why their vehicles and machines were parked but they declined to comment, referring Politico to the General Manager of the company that brought them to Kono.
Speaking angrily on a telephone, the General Manager of Well Group Construction Company, Sahr Njegba told Politico that he had neither received a warning letter nor a termination letter from either SLRA or the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.
He said he had faced the parliamentary committee on works to which he had given a progress report on the work in Koidu, adding that the committee would be visiting his project site to ascertain the picture he portrayed to them in the House.
Njegba said that some of the allegations against him “are mere witch-hunting”. He said that there were other road construction companies in the country owned by foreigners who were not performing to expectations. “But you will not hear them questioning them about those funny stuffs except mine which is the only Sierra Leonean Road construction company,” he said.
About two months ago, the former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Sahr Augustine Sheku told the people of Kono District on the SLBC in Kono that they had terminated the contract with Well Group Construction Company because “they lack capacity to complete the two jobs.” He said then that a Chinese construction company was going to take over from them.
