Govt rails against new works out of construction contracts

Mkalama. The government warned against contractors negligence, which mostly result into new contracts for the same projects.

The warning was issued on Saturday by the Deputy Minister for Works, Mr Elias Kwandikwa shortly after he had inspected the Sibiti Bridge, which was constructed by China Hainan International Ltd in Mkalama District, Singida Region.

He explained that the new projects that are born out of the original projects have been consuming plenty of cash and spend a long time to their completion.

“There is a living example here, our contract with China Hainan International Ltd is to construct the Sibiti Bridge, but another project of breaking big stone has emerged . This is not spelt in the contract,” he said.

To end the emergence of new projects, which are not spelt in the contracts, the deputy minister reiterated that engineers and architects should be more serious about their duties.

However, Mr Kwandikwa commended the Chinese firm for constructing the Sibiti Bridge whose value matches the money spent on it, urging it to increase efforts and equipment so that it could timely complete the construction in accordance with the contractual timeline.

“The road passing over the Sibiti Bridge from Singida to Arusha regions is very important for our country’s economic growth as it will also reduce the distance by 200 kilometres. This is the most preferred rod by tourists heading to the Ngorongoro National Park and other tourist attractions,” said Mr Kwandikwa.

The deputy minister also assured the construction firm and others, who signed contracts with the state that the fifth phase government had enough funds to pay them in time, stressing that payment delay for contractors and service providers will be a thing of the past.

Earlier, the Singida Region’s Tanroads Manager, Mr Leonard Kapongo, said the construction of the Sibiti Bridge was being financed by the government by 100 per cent to the tune of over Sh16.3 billion.