By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, June 15, GNA – The Ministry of Roads and Highways did not abuse the single source procurement process in their award of the Big Push contracts, an investigative report has indicated.
The report said the Ministry of Roads and Highways acted within legal provisions and bona fide boundaries regarding the Big Push contracts.
“The Report, however, indicates that there seems to be a strong public aversion to single sourcing unless reserved for genuinely exceptional circumstances,” Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Presidential Spokesman and Minister of State in-charge of Government Communications, said at a press conference held at the Presidency in Accra.
“Even though current legislation takes care of these sentiments by providing the exceptions when single sourcing may be applied, it would be advisable to further restrict administrative discretion in the evaluation of future single sourcing applications.”
He said thus, even though the Ministry of Roads and Highways acted within the existing provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), as amended, and obtained the necessary approvals for single sourcing, public concern highlighted the need for stronger institutional transparency, enhanced public disclosure and proactive independent oversight mechanisms.
It would be recalled that the Presidency received a report dated April 1, 2026, from the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) on publications by the Fourth Estate regarding claims of abuse of the single-sourcing procurement process in the award of contracts under the Big Push Initiative.
On April 2, 2026, President John Dramani Mahama referred the matter to the Senior Presidential Advisor on Governmental Affairs.
The President tasked the Advisor with investigating the allegations to establish their veracity and determining the appropriate course of action.
The Report recognised the transparency efforts demonstrated by the Fourth Estate and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MWFA) as serving an essential role in fostering public accountability and bringing procurement data to national attention.
The title of the Fourth Estate publication was “The sole-source factory” – A reference to the Ministry of Roads and Highways.
The Report, concurrently, recognised the commitment of the Ministry of Roads and Highways to executing the Big Push agenda reflects a clear imperative to accelerate infrastructure development, stimulate job creation, and drive economic growth.
The Report concluded by stating that the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) Board, the Value for Money Office and Cabinet, must function in tandem to ensure that accelerated national infrastructure initiatives, such as the Big Push agenda, were executed with optimal financial scrutiny and structural integrity.
He said after a careful assessment of all the facts backed by documentary evidence, the Report established that one thousand four hundred and forty-one (1,441) project contracts had been awarded by the Ministry of Roads and Highways under the current John Mahama administration.
The breakdown included Ghana Highways Authority 405, Department of Feeder Roads 896, Legacy Projects 23, Consolidated (Big Push) Projects 63 and Main Big Push 54.
He said out of a total of 1,441 projects, 1,301 were awarded through open or competitive tendering; the remaining 140 were awarded under the Big Push initiative.
Mr Ofosu said of the 140 Big Push projects, 66 were awarded via single-sourcing, 51 were awarded via restrictive tendering, and 23 were ongoing projects inherited from the previous government that had been awarded on single-source basis and absorbed under the Big Push initiative.
He said the foregoing reveals that – 1,301 out of 1,441 contracts representing 90.28 per cent of road contracts under this government were awarded through the open/competitive tendering process.
He noted that only 4.58 per cent of the total 1,441 road contracts awarded by the Ministry of Roads and Highways in 2025 and 2026 were awarded through the single sourcing process.
The Minister said under the Big Push initiative, which was only one component of the total work being done by the Ministry of Roads and Highways, less than half with 47.14 per cent, out of the 140, awarded through the single sourcing process.
He said the implementing agencies of the Ministry of Roads and Highways obtained Public Procurement Authority Board approval to award specific Big Push projects via single sourcing or restricted tendering.
The implementing agencies for the above projects are the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), the Department of Urban Roads (DUR), and the Department of Feeder Roads.
Mr Ofosu said in the interest of transparency and true to their commitment to accountable governance, the full 72-page report would be published Tuesday, June 16.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei