The Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL) has appealed to the government for at least 70 per cent of its consultancy jobs to enable it to become financially stable and more productive.
Professor Kwame Asamoah, the Board Chairman, AESL, who made the appeal at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting to present 2019, 2020 and 2021 Annual Report and Financial Statements in Accra, said the AESL had a lot of expertise that could be leveraged to promote the building industry and contribute positively to government’s initiatives and projects.
To ensure the survival of AESL, which is under the Ministry of Works and Housing, he said it was imperative that they found new ways of doing things, including assessing the integrity of public and private buildings to generate more revenue rather than continuously depending on government for funding.
He called on the leadership of AESL to look at how to use the expertise of members which was under-utilised to be competitive and achieve the President’s expectation for State-Owned Enterprises to contribute 30 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
Prof. Asamoah said AESL was bent on promoting ethical standards and called on members of AESL to abide by the cardinal principle of honesty and discipline to ensure that the survival of AESL was not threatened.
“We are going to instil discipline, so with those who are not willing to be disciplined, I think we may have to say goodbye to them. Let’s build a robust AESL,” he cautioned.
He admonished staff and members of AESL to work with full commitment in 2023 to be able to achieve their mandate and generate enough revenue to pay their staff.
Mr Isaac Agyei Marfo, the Managing Director, of AESL, said the staff strength of AESL as of 2019 was 420 which was reduced to 321 in 2021 after a Human Resource auditing.
Out of this number, he said 128 representing 41.16 per cent were professionals and the non-Professional staff 183 representing 58.84 per cent.
Speaking about the acquisition of jobs, he said 2020 and 2021 however, turned out to be very challenging periods for the company and although Management responded and submitted various technical and financial proposals for jobs, the efforts were yet to materialise.
“The Ministry of Education, our major client awarded over 800 projects during the period but none came our way as Public Consultants.
However, we were only tasked to revise and reactivate the old and abandoned projects under our care for continuation and completion,” he added.
To increase the company’s cash inflows and better their ability to satisfy their commitments and the well-being of the valued workforce, Mr Marfo said they would continue to focus on the many initiatives that led to the acquisition of jobs in 2021.
“We will keep searching for chances in West Africa and other African countries. As long as they are performing their jobs, employees must adhere to the company’s code of conduct, which management will continue to enforce,” he noted.
Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, the Minister of Works and Housing, said the government appreciated the role of AESL in providing quality consultancy services towards the socio-economic growth of the country in the area of architecture, engineering and surveying.
He said AESL was a reputable brand with a presence in all regions, hence it was important to provide them with an advantage to ensure the organisation excelled more than it did.
Mr Asenso-Boakye asked them to be innovative to appeal to new clients and remain competitive in the markets, saying companies were generating new ways to attract clients as technology emerged.
Responding to the AESL’s appeal for 70 per cent job acquisition, the Minister said: “I am aware of some of the challenges of the organisation like job acquisition and so we are taking steps to ensure the company remains relevant and highly competitive.”
Mr Asenso-Boakye called on the public including government institutions to source the services of AESL to develop a resilient and aesthetically appealing community.
He also asked members of AESL who are professionals to be aggressive enough and make the public feel their presence to acquire more jobs.
