Government spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu has defended the procurement practices of the Ministry of Roads and Highways under the government’s flagship Big Push road infrastructure programme, rejecting allegations by The Fourth Estate and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) that procurement laws were breached through the excessive use of single-source contracting.
Addressing the Government Accountability Series on Monday, June 15, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu disclosed that President John Dramani Mahama had commissioned an investigation into the allegations following concerns raised by the MFWA.
According to him, the Presidency received a report dated April 1, 2026, outlining the concerns and, on April 2, referred the matter to the Senior Presidential Advisor on Governmental Affairs for assessment and investigation.
He explained that the report was subsequently forwarded to the Ministry of Roads and Highways on April 8 for its response. The Ministry submitted its response on April 21, after which a final 72-page report was presented to the President on May 22, 2026.
Mr. Kwakye Ofosu said the full report would be made public in the interest of transparency, but highlighted some of its key findings during the briefing.
According to the report, a total of 1,441 road contracts have been awarded under the current administration through agencies including the Ghana Highways Authority, the Department of Urban Roads, and the Department of Feeder Roads.
Of that number, 1,301 contracts, representing 90.28 per cent, were awarded through open competitive tendering, while 140 contracts were undertaken under the Big Push initiative.
He explained that among the Big Push contracts, 66 were awarded through single sourcing, 51 through restrictive tendering, and 23 were ongoing projects inherited from the previous administration.
Mr. Kwakye Ofosu argued that the figures do not support claims that the ministry had become a “sole source factory.”
“Only 4.58 percent of all contracts awarded were through single sourcing,” he said.
He further stated that the investigation found no evidence of breaches of procurement regulations, noting that all contract awards complied with the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663 as amended), and received the required approvals from the Public Procurement Authority and other relevant institutions.
According to him, the report found that the use of single sourcing in specific cases was justified by urgent national considerations, including the need for accelerated infrastructure delivery, procurement efficiency, growing public demand for improved road networks, security concerns, and the risk of rising project costs due to inflation.
Mr. Kwakye Ofosu also addressed concerns regarding funding inconsistencies highlighted in the allegations, explaining that the differences stemmed from the existence of multiple financing sources.
These, he said, include the Consolidated Fund, the Road Fund, donor-supported financing arrangements, and the dedicated Big Push Fund established in 2025.
He maintained that competitive tendering remained the dominant procurement method under the road infrastructure programme and dismissed suggestions of widespread abuse of single sourcing or violations of procurement procedures by the Ministry of Roads and Highways.
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