The Presidency has strongly rejected investigative reports describing the Ministry of Roads and Highways as a “sole-source factory,” releasing a 72-page independent preliminary assessment which claims that single-source procurement accounted for less than 5% of total road sector contracts.
The executive review was triggered after the Fourth Estate, through the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), alleged widespread procurement abuses under the government’s flagship “Big Push” infrastructure initiative. Conducted by the Senior Presidential Advisor on Governmental Affairs, Dr. Valerie Sawyer, the state’s response presents data intended to show that open and competitive bidding remained the dominant procurement method under the current administration.
Out of 1,441 road projects reviewed across the Ghana Highway Authority, the Department of Urban Roads, and the Department of Feeder Roads, the government maintains that more than 1,300 were awarded through public advertisements and rigorous competitive bidding processes.
The government further clarified that the strategic decision to use single-source procurement or restricted tendering for a portion of the specialised “Big Push” projects was driven by economic urgency, volatile market conditions, and the deteriorating state of critical national corridors.
“1,301 out of 1,441 projects were awarded through open or competitive tendering, and these were publicly advertised and are verifiable. This demonstrates that competitive tendering remained the Ministry’s overwhelming baseline norm.”
“Consequently, the data and basis for adopting the single-source procedure refute any claim that the Ministry of Roads and Highways acted in total disregard of the President’s directive on fiscal prudence. The Ministry followed the procedure required by law in awarding the Big Push contracts.”
Dismissing subsequent media allegations concerning typographical errors in project costs and minor misspellings of company names as “red herrings,” the government announced that it would publish the full 72-page investigative report by the close of business tomorrow.
