Contractor to vomit 35.8 million cedis

Edward Dickson Brantuo, a water hydro geological engineer and Manging Director of Equatorial Spring Water of Tema was on Monday arrested by the Kumawu Police for defrauding the Tweneboah Koduah Secondary School to the tune of 35.8 million cedis.

The engineer has upon police investigations undertaken to pay the amount in 21 days and has given a statement to the Police to that effect in Kumasi.

Brantuo gave the undertaking to the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Frank Adu Poku in the presence of the PTA Chairman of TKSS, Mr Baafi, his assistant, Dr James Charles London and the Financial Secretary , Mr Owusu at the Regional Police Headquarters on Tuesday in Kumasi.

Investigations revealed that Brantuo breached a contract and became indebted to the PTA of the Tweneboah Koduah Secondary School to the tune of 35,800,000.00 paid to him as part payment of a contract sum for the drilling of a mechanised borehole for the school.

A contract to that effect was signed on November 21, 2004, at the cost of 83,265, 000.00 cedis.

Under the agreement 43% of the total contract sum being 35,800.000.00 was to be paid to the contractor to mobilize rigs and materials.

He was to collect a further 30% of the contract sum after drilling and development while the remaining 27% was to be paid after testing and commissioning.

Brantuo had convinced the PTA Ad-hoc Committee at a meeting on November 17, 2004 that he was experienced in solving water problems facing schools built on rocky grounds and mentioned Aburi Girls and Ofori Panyin Secondary Schools as some of such schools to argue his case.

Work on the construction was to start on November 24, 2004 but to date the project had not started following which the PTA decided to take action against Brantuo's ESW for breach of contract and retrieval of the money.

Even though Brantuo has since August 16, 2005 undertaken to reimburse TKSS with the amount from the proposed KTC Promoting Partnership with Traditional Authorities Project, a joint water project, he has since jumped bail.

The Police and the PTA did not know his whereabouts until he resurfaced recently. He was eventually arrested last Monday by the Kumawu Police.

Source: The Chronicle