“If you have a Ghanaian contractor who can perform well before the contract date and time, then they should be rewarded. So it is necessary for our contractors to do good jobs when given the opportunity to justify that they are equally good,” he said.

Speaking to the media on a working tour to the Elmina Emergency Sea Defence Project site on Tuesday, the Minister reiterated the government’s commitment to engaging local contractors when they exhibited excellence.

He was accompanied by his two Deputies, Mrs Freda Prempeh and Mr Eugene Antwi together with the directors of the Ministry and technical consultants from the Hydrological Services Department.

The tour was to enable the Minister and his entourage to acquaint themselves with the on-going project to make inputs to ensure its quick completion.

The Minister impressed about the progress of work on the project, commended the contractor and said “we need to disabuse our minds that it is only foreigners that can address the problems of Ghana. This is the clearest example that there are certain things we should give to our local people”.

“Why don’t you give the job to a black man if he can do it, so that the economy will improve because the money will stay here in the country,” he added.

The New Takoradi/ Elmina Emergency Sea Defence Project is being constructed by Vulux Company, a solely Ghanaian owned company with all staff being Ghanaians, in two phases.

The first phase which was a two kilometer revetment has been completed and was done six months ahead of schedule.

The second phase, which is a four kilometer revetment along the beaches of Elmina, is expected to be completed in three years.

Mr Atta Akyea noted that the ferocious powers of the sea posed a threat to the coastal lands in terms of fishing and the operations of the hospitality industry and that government was keen to address the problem.

Mr Anthony Nuvor, Project Director of Vulux, explained that the company was able to complete the first phase of the project ahead of schedule due to good managerial skills and recruitment of adequate technical experts.

He said the company would deploy appropriate equipment and manpower to ensure that the work was completed earlier as scheduled.

The Minister also visited the Cape Coast Ministries block which accommodated workers of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the Region, which was in a deplorable condition.

He said Government was committed to partnering with the private sector to build affordable housing for workers to secure them through the pensions plan for future.