Suppliers of Resi services demand K20mil payment

 CONTRACTORS hired by the Education Department to implement the rehabilitating education sector infrastructure (Resi) programme in NCD want the department to fast-track their final payments worth more than K20 million.

The contractors would meet at FinCorp Haus tomorrow and pressure the department to pay them their dues.

Chairman of NCD contractors committee and former Milne Bay MP William Ebenosi said the education minister had directed the department to pay the service providers “but the bureaucrats are still sitting on the payments”.

Ebenosi said he had submitted a list of claims after a final audit was done to determine the authenticity of the 435 contractors that included white goods, stationeries and maintenance.

“We have about 200 contractors gathering at headquarters waiting for the department; we are waiting for the rest of them to join us on Wednesday so we can discuss the issue and pressure the department to make the payments,” he said.

The contractors were engaged by the department on a two-year contract to improve education infrastructure in NCD.

They said of the K22 million allocated to pay Resi service providers, only K9.2 million was paid out.