The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, Sulemana Braimah, has accused the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of contradicting its earlier stance on sole sourcing in public procurement.
Speaking on Ekosii Sen on Asempa FM, Mr. Braimah alleged that the government awarded contracts under the Big Push initiative to a construction company with less than a year’s existence and no proven track record.
He further claimed that data obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) request from the Ministry of Roads and Highways shows that out of 107 contracts awarded, 81 were through sole sourcing.
According to him, this raises serious concerns about abuse of the procurement method, particularly given President John Dramani Mahama’s position that sole sourcing should be used sparingly.
Mr. Braimah also highlighted inconsistencies in official figures, noting that the Roads Minister, Kwame Governs Agbodza, previously told Parliament that 54 new contracts had been awarded, alongside 23 ongoing projects absorbed into the initiative.
He argued that these discrepancies, coupled with the high number of sole-sourced contracts, undermine the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
“The NDC awarded a contract to a construction company that was established less than a year ago and has no experience or track record. They should not underestimate Ghanaians simply because they are in power today. They are trying to justify the very actions they criticized while in opposition. The president stated that sole sourcing should be the rarest option. However, under the Ministry of Roads, part of the president’s initiative known as the ‘Big Push,’ 107 contracts were awarded, with 81 of them granted through sole sourcing. Now, they are claiming that sole sourcing is acceptable.
“We submitted a Right to Information (RTI) request to the Ministry of Roads and Highways. If 81 out of 107 contracts were awarded through sole sourcing, how can that not be considered an abuse? Their statements contradict each other. The minister went to Parliament and stated that they had awarded only 54 contracts, with an additional 23 existing contracts included in the Big Push initiative. However, our RTI findings revealed a total of 107 contracts, plus 8 ongoing ones. It seems the NDC is forgetting everything they said while in opposition,” he added.
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