Legal Practitioner, Lawyer Stanley has issued a challenge to the NDC to publish a full list of contractors who received payments on January 8, 2025, the same day Chairman Wontumi’s company, Hallmark Civil Engineering, was paid for a cocoa roads project.
According to Lawyer Stanley, over 100 contractors, including those affiliated with the NDC, received payments, making it unfair to single out Chairman Wontumi.
“The construction of roads involves a complex process, starting with clearing and formation, followed by the construction of gutters, bridges, sub-base, and base, and finally, the laying of bitumen and gravel. After completion, engineers from the highways department inspect the work and issue a certificate, while another body values the work done,” Lawyer Stanley, who oversaw the certification process, emphasized that the valuation is based on prices and work done, as checked by engineers and the Cocoa Board.
Lawyer Stanley questioned the logic behind delaying payments to contractors, given that the value of money depreciates over time. “It doesn’t make sense for payment to take longer to be made, as the value of the money devalues,” he said, citing the depreciation of the dollar against the cedi as an example.
The lawyer challenged the NDC to publish the names of other contractors who received payments on the same day as Chairman Wontumi, putting his professional reputation on the line. “Why is Chairman Wontumi the only person whose account has been frozen for receiving payment for a project he had successfully and genuinely executed?” Lawyer Stanley asked.
This comes after the NDC had disclosed that Wontumi’s company, Hallmark Civil Engineering had received payment on January 8th, for a cocoa roads project, when the Chief of Staff had ordered that no payments should be made until the new government reviewed them, a reason for which his account was frozen.