AKHA Keeps Contractors on Their Toes

By Nse-Abasi Odiong

The House Committee Chairman on Works and Member representing Itu State Constituency in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Prince Idongesit Ituen, has led his committee members on Onna Local government Area to perform an oversight functions of supervising the massive government road projects going on in the area.
While inspecting Awa-Iman onna road construction handled by VKS Construction Company Ltd., the Committee Chairman and his team however discovered that despite the state of progress so far achieved by the construction company, the constitution of their management team did not reflect the vision of the state government in providing jobs for its people as there was no indigenous person in their senior management team which were all foreigners. This according to the Committee Chairman automatically keeps them out of major decision making in the company. The Chairman, who frowned seriously at the development, demanded that qualified indigenous engineers be employed to serve in the higher management level of the company as well.
Probing further into the activities of the VKS, the committee discovered that most part of the executed jobs were done by some other yet-to-be identified sub-contractors. Hon. Ituen demanded that the company should make the identities of those contractors known to his committee as soon as possible as he will not condole any sharp practices under his watch and charged them to carry out their work in a way that justifies the huge amount of government funds invested in these projects.
The committee inspections is in line with its resolve to drive the vision of The Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, who is determined to deliver people-oriented projects that will take Akwa Ibom to her desired haven at the end of his administration.
In his reaction, the spokesperson for VKS Construction Company Ltd, Engr. Kulabi said that there were indigenes of Akwa Ibom State working for the company at the labour level. He commended the visit of the committee and promised that some of the lapses identified by the committee would be amended and pledged the company’s readiness to partner the state to ensure that the needed development is ensured in terms of road construction. Engr. Kulabi maintained that the company has the needed manpower, equipment and technical knowhow to give the people and government of Akwa Ibom the best in terms of job delivery.