The Ministry of Finance has denied allegations leveled by an official at the National Committee for Contractors at the Saudi Council of Chambers of Commerce that financial representatives at various ministries are to be blamed for the delay in contractors’ payments.

An official from the ministry, stating that such charges only tarnish the financial reputation of the Kingdom, said it was in fact the committee which was proving to be a stumbling block for government projects since it was not disbursing payments to the contractors.

Fahd Al-Nasban, a member of the contracting committee at the Saudi Council of Chambers, said both the sides were to blame for the delay in payment to contractors. “Ministries and government institutions bear about 70 percent of the blame for the delay while the Ministry of Finance bears the remaining 30 percent,” Al-Nasban said.

The Ministry of Finance, he said, was responsible for establishing mechanisms for disbursements and monitoring payments’ processes from time to time and in accordance with the schedules agreed.

He said a decision issued by the Council of Ministers stipulates that contractors in the employment and maintenance sectors should be paid on the fifth of every month. “But, I can vouch that payments to several contractors in these two sectors are delayed by more than six months,” Al-Nasban pointed out, arguing that financial representatives of government institutions are to be blamed for such delays.

“All the parties concerned should admit their part in causing the delays, and work jointly toward finding a speedy solution to the problem,” he said.

Earlier, the National Committee for Contractors, at a recent press conference, said about 90 percent of the projects in the Kingdom were delayed mainly due to acute shortage of labor and delay in contractor’s payments.