Mahamadou Bonkoungou, CEO of EBOMAF: "The work of RN 14 complies with the specifications"

The deadline for the completion of the Koudougou-Dédougou road project is 30 November. In the face of the various false allegations made here and there around this important book, the P-DG of EBOMAF, Mahamadou Bonkoungou exits from his reserve to indicate once and for all that "his undertaking followed to the letter what was requested of him".

•How do you justify yourself to the judgment of a recent parliamentary mission on the construction site of RN 14, which your company is responsible for, according to which "the work is very late"?

Mahamadou Bonkoungou (M.B.): Great was personally my astonishment to hear such a reaction. This judgment is not consistent with the reality of the ground that anyone can see and go to the obvious using technical explanation. For my part, I consider that when officials with State authority carry out such an important inspection mission in the name of the control of government action, it is necessary to surround or be accompanied by technicians capable of enlightening their lantern on certain aspects. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Counter-truths, which could cause problems of incomprehension and undermine the good faith of my business, have appeared in their judgment. While they're not worth it.

To tell the truth, the yard is not late. For a contractual period of up to 30 November, only a dozen kilometres remain to be achieved. It is obvious that the original normal time has expired. But we have to admit that we have benefited from an amendment of five (5) months because the contractor has consented to additional work and proceeded with the transformation of many others. Of the five (5) months remaining, we have three (3) months to date. We are well within the contractual deadline. Contrary to what has been noted, there are not seventeen (17) kilometres untubated. There are only a dozen kilometers of red earth left with primers. This portion is already provided with sewerage works and various pavements. It is now waiting for the superficial coating which is very difficult to put in a rainy period. We give ourselves the necessary time of three (3) weeks to close everything with this activity. It is therefore surprising to hear that there is a great delay. He will remind you that in this country, there are construction sites that have lasted more than three times their contractual period.

• In addition to the question of delay, there is the question of the quality of the work which was also pointed out, ...

M.B.: Only a secular eye for this activity can question the quality of the track under construction. The public must now admit that this road project was carried out according to the technical requirements of the contractor. It is like when an architect built a house from the plan that he was given. The entrepreneur does not invent anything. All professionals in the field understand this. It is therefore funny to hear about the route of Dédougou that the successful contractor could have done this or that. The section is constructed of surface coating. That's what we were asked to do. This has never been a question of a coated layer. In this case, one cannot speak of asphalt with a thickness of 10 or 15 cm. Work on the Koudougou-Dédougou road consists of the fixation of surface coating, the thickness of which generally varies between 1.5 and 3 cm. This was done in accordance with the required standards and the invoice allocated to the work. As for the different turns, they are not done by the company. They result from the plan contained in the tender documents. In short, the length of the turns has no harmful effect on traffic. All turns on the section meet national and international standards.

• What is envisaged on the site to restore the environment?

The parliamentary mission did not take into account the remaining three (3) months. Reforestation is one of the activities to be carried out on this site. In such circumstances, trees are not planted for bulldozers to come and uproot them. This component occurs after the road has been completed. Five thousand (5000) trees are to be planted between Koudougou and Dédougou while we have destroyed only one thousand six hundred and twenty (1,620). We already have a nursery outside the town of Koudougou. A contract was signed with a claimant. We wait to finish some major works before we bury them. Reforestation is a contractual clause and we are bound to respect it. It is a duty to respect, safeguard and restore the environment in the execution of the project.

• What about the non-compliance with working conditions that has been noted?

M.B.: It is worth recalling that an entrepreneur is, above all, a general coordinator on a site such as the national road 14. The work puts several actors in synergy of actions. Some activities are outsourced. More than 1,000 people work on this section. Not all of them are employees of my company. We have always provided vests, boots and helmets to our workers. This can be verified on all our construction sites. But when a subcontractor arrives at the site with his workers who do not have boots, it is up to him to make the complaint that he did not take into account the working conditions. Social laws also apply to subcontractors.

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