Several contractors have accused Thomas & Piron Grand Lacs, a subsidiary of Thomas & Piron of Brussels, Belgium of failure to pay their money totaling to about $ 1million. According to the contractors, two joint venture consortiums, Thomas and Piron and Fair Construction, sub contracted about ten firms including Rico Technical Services, Aqual Plumbing, Balton, Alfacon, and Aerox Investments to rehabilitate the parliamentary buildings in 2008. Some were hired to install air conditioning while others provided electrical, plumbing, painting and woodworks materials. An employee with one of the firms said that they are under immense pressure from the banks that loaned them money to implement the jobs. And, the labor they hired to do the job is also not yet paid for. “We keep on hiding from the workers we engaged. The main contractor has been paid and he does not want to pay us,” he said. When contacted, Coralie Piron, of Thomas & Piron said that plans are under way to make payments, but hastened to add that the amount owed is less than $1million, as claimed by the sub contractors. “We shall pay them as soon as we get paid. They should be patient because we are preparing financial documents,” Piron said in a telephone interview. Joseph Mugisha, of Fair Construction was unavailable for a comment by press time. Ends
