Retract And  Apologize Or We Sue You! -Evanmike Tells Inquisitor Newspaper Editor Over EOCO Faults Contractor On Maritime University Auditorium Project Claim

Failure to comply with its directive, according to the leadership of the company, would compel them to institute a legal action against the The Inquisitor which is a private newspaper in Accra.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Monday November 7, 2022, the company has come out to set the records straight to the general public to respond to the mischievous media report published by The Inquisitor Newspaper in its edition of Monday November 7, 2022.

The management of the building construction company has vehemently rejected what the company described as a palpable falsehood being thrown about by the paper that, the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) has faulted the company for wrong doings in connection with the construction of Maritime University Auditorium project to soil its image and reputation.

The company noted that although it has been investigated by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) on alleged fraud, there have not been any final determination of the matter and was shocked to hear in the media publication that the EOCO has faulted the company without even being informed about the outcome of the matter pending before EOCO.

The leadership of the company served a notice to the paper to retract and apologize to the company over the statement which it considers to be a fabrication of the paper’s imagination.

According to Evanmike, the said RMU projects were awarded to them on April 4, 2008, through an open legal competitive tender.

Recounting how it won the tender, Evanmike said, following an advertisement in the Ghanaian Times for the construction of library, administration and auditorium complex for the RMU in 2008, “our company submitted a bid for consideration and won the tender.”   

 

The company disclosed that the contract sum for the completion of the projects within eight (8) months was GH¢745,851.72, adding that the scope of the original works was for the completion of the substructure and ground floor level only.

     

It stated that after securing the necessary mobilisation of resources, the site for the construction of the projects was handed over to Evanmike Multipurpose Ltd. on 22nd May, 2008, and work was completed on schedule.    

  

However, Evanmike said in the course of work in June 2015, it became necessary for the rates contained in the contract document to be revised to commensurate with price increase of building material, labour and depreciation of the cedi against the dollar.

The cedi, it stated, depreciated by 169% against the USD (the rate of the dollar changed from GH¢1.45 per dollar in 2011 which was applied to the contract sum which raised it to the tune of GH¢ 8,071,004.71 as against GH¢3.90 in 2015.

In January 2019, the company recalled that when the work on the auditorium complex reached about 20%, there was a sharp increment in the prices of building materials, labour and equipment hiring.

This therefore, called for the need for rate revision to apply to enable the contractor meet the cost of construction, it added.

According to Evanmike, following several consultations on the revised contract sum with the consultant, the amount sum was revised to GH¢35,880,707.57, because of price increment of goods and services, pending the consideration and the endorsement or approval by the Vice Chancellor of the RMU. 

It said, this proposed new contract revision was contained in a letter dated July 2, 2020, addressed to the Vice Chancellor of the RMU. 

 

But Evanmike indicated that, upon receiving the consultant’s letter, the vice chancellor of the RMU single-handedly revised the contract sum of GH¢35,880,707.57 to GH¢31,670,584.75.

It was against this backdrop that Evanmike petitioned the stakeholders on the revision of contract sum, which matter was currently being resolved.

 

Continuing, Evanmike noted that it applied for rates revision as stipulated in the contract document through the official consultant on the project for his consideration.

More importantly, the company said during the construction of the auditorium complex, there was a change in scope of works, which therefore, changed all the quantities in the Bill of Quantities (BoQ) entirely from substructure (that is from foundation trench, foundation concrete, block work and on the superstructure; from concrete beams, block work roofing etc., etc.) 

These changes, Evanmike stressed, necessitated the revision in the BoQ.

The company also pointed that the non-prompt payment of Interim Payment Certificate (IPC) which should have been paid within 28 days also affected progress of work, adding that some IPCs were paid between 6 months to over two (2) years.

  

The second phase of the project which involved decoupling/redesigning were awarded in 14th November, 2011, to Evanmike Multipurpose Company Limited with the approval from the Public Procurement Authority through sole sourcing.

This, Evanmike explained, was because it was already on site working on the phase one project. 

Further, the company said the auditorium complex with an initial sitting capacity of 600 people was decided by the management of the RMU to be decoupled from the administration/library block to the present new auditorium complex site.

The company described the current teasers published by some of the media houses as mischievous and misleading.

To this end, the company called on the general public to disregard the publication of the newspaper attributed to EOCO since Evanmike would be the last company to engage in fraudulent activities in discharging of its contractual agreements with its clients.