They have had to work with resources that really do not contribute any value to the project, and that by express directives of top management they have to continue with them, What do you think, what

I think Organization theories like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg's Hygiene theory , DISC profile and several others, and also the powers of the Project Manager can come to the aid of the Project Manager.
Project Managers just need to figure out what motivates the Team members to give it their best. If you can answer the "What's in it for me?" question of the team member, they are more likely to become willing participants and contributors.
Change scares everyone and to take someone out of their comfort zone and cocoon takes hard work.
Instead of escalation to management and being labelled as incompetent, the approach could be to ask Team leaders of these members as to what the career goals and strengths of these team members are and how to best work with them to harness their strengths or if required , get them more training.