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PRESS RELEASE:“PERFORM OR BE READY FOR SACK” – FERMA CHAIRMAN TO CONTRACTORS |
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Published: 18th January 2010 “PERFORM OR BE READY FOR SACK” – FERMA CHAIRMAN TO CONTRACTORS The Chairman of FERMA Governing Board, Engr. Abdulkhadir Kure, has warned all contractors executing FERMA’s on-going road maintenance projects nationwide to redouble their efforts to achieve set targets or be prepared for termination soon.
Kure issued the warning at the weekend through Chief Ike Ndeokwelu, a member of the Board who led 8 other members on a 3-day inspection of the Agency’s maintenance projects in Niger and Kaduna States. The Chairman said the current Board is very focused on creating an enabling policy environment to enable the Agency deliver on its mandate of making all Federal roads motorable all year round.
The Chairman said, being a major driver of economic development as captured in government’s 7-Point Agenda and Vision 20:2020 policies, the Agency is determined to ensure that maintenance works are executed according to the stipulated standards and specification. According to him, it is the Board’s responsibility to see to it that all concerned rise to their responsibilities, hence the need for members to see things for themselves through project inspections. He said the Board is to also ensure that resources made available to the Agency are used responsibly.
Noting that the current dry season is the best period for construction work, he said government’s unprecedented goodwill to enable the Agency deliver good roads is not wasted due to non performance by contractors. He, therefore, charged them to redouble efforts for early completion of on-going projects so that funds appropriated for road maintenance do not lapse while the roads remain bad. To this extent, he said the Board and management have put all machineries in place to ensure that all certificates sent in are paid within a week, adding that delayed payment is no longer an excuse for non performance by contractors.
He said hardworking contractors will be assisted to meet set targets and specification, but warned that the Agency will not hesitate to terminate any contract that is found to be unduly lagging behind.
The Chairman also commended the Federal Road Maintenance Engineers (FRMEs) and other technical staff in the two states for the quality of direct labour works carried out against difficult circumstances, as he urged staff in other states to prove their professional mettle through good quality direct labour works as well as supervision of contractors.
Among the roads inspected were Mokwa – Tegina road, Makera – Kontagora road, Suleja – Agaiye – Bida – Mokwa road, Birnin Gwari – Funtua road, the fire-damaged bridge at Zaria along the Kaduna – Zaria – Kano road, Kaduna – Abuja road and the Kaduna Western By-pass road executed by direct labour.
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