Work on Wa Poly hostel facility halted (Page 11, Jan 28,2011)

Story: Chris Nunoo, Wa

CONSTRUCTION work on the 1000 bed hostel facility for the Wa Polytechnic has been halted by the school authorities to be reallocated to a new contractor.
This, according to the Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr Godwin Aflakpui, was as a result of the inability of the first contractor to meet the expectations and projections of the institution.
He said his outfit had met with a consultant for the project in relation to the re-allocation of the work to a new contractor.
Similarly, Dr Aflakpui said, work on the construction of a new official residence for the rector had also been stalled due to the lack of capacity on the part of the contractors to proceed with the project.
He explained that the rector’s residence, like the hostel, was being built with funds from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) with an estimated amount of GH¢506,000 which had to be re-awarded for the third consecutive time.
Dr Aflakpui who was interacting with the Daily Graphic in Wa, in the Upper West Region, said even though the work on the rector’s residence was expected to be completed within 18 months, the inability of the previous contractors to meet the requirements would affect both the duration for the completion of the project as well as the amount earmarked for the projects.
Presently, Dr Aflakpui is staying at a guest house and is expecting to be re-allocated a temporary bungalow by the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in due course.
Meanwhile, the Daily Graphic has gathered that the non-completion of the hostel facility is putting a lot of financial pressure on both parents and students, as they have to comb through the Wa municipality searching for accommodation which are exorbitant .
Dr Aflakpui, however, noted that work on the polytechnic library complex had almost been completed with the exception of the fixing of a concrete encavement for the installation of an elevator.
On academic issues, the rector explained that due to the national strike action embarked on by the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) last year, the Wa Polytechnic had re-aligned its academic calendar in order to maintain the standards.
He said the polytechnic was bent on establishing itself as a centre of excellence and therefore, it would not deviate from the Polytechnic Act 2007 which ensured that qualified and the right calibre of staff were employed to teach at the school.
He said the Polytechnic was in the process of equipping itself both in terms of staff and logistics to be able to fully introduce new programmes in Industrial Arts, Cosmetology and Laboratory Technology.
He further advised students to take their studies seriously and abide by the rules of the polytechnic.
The rector noted that access roads to the school would soon be given a facelift.