Roads and Highways Minister Kwame Governs Agbodza has mounted a detailed parliamentary defence of the government’s flagship Big Push infrastructure programme, disclosing that over GH¢11 billion has been paid to clear a portion of road sector arrears inherited from the previous administration, while pushing back against claims that the initiative is built on unlawful sole sourcing.
The minister’s statement came in response to an investigative report by The Fourth Estate, which used Right to Information (RTI) requests to reveal that 81 sole-sourced contracts valued at more than GH¢73 billion were awarded within seven months under the Big Push initiative, with approximately 76 percent of contracts issued between September 2025 and February 2026 processed outside competitive bidding.
Agbodza disputed the framing. He told Parliament that only 44 percent of major contracts were sole-sourced, and that more than 400 contracts had been awarded through open competitive tendering, which he described as unprecedented for the sector. “There is no abuse of sole sourcing. It is the exception, not the norm. No procurement law has been breached, and there is no scandal,” he said.
On inherited liabilities, the minister disclosed that 23 major road projects originally awarded under the previous administration but left incomplete due to funding gaps have been absorbed into the Big Push programme. Those projects, with a combined value of GH¢14.88 billion, include the Suame Interchange, the Ofankor-Nsawam Road, and the Adenta-Dodowa Road. The decision to absorb rather than re-tender the contracts was described as fiscally prudent, avoiding the cost escalations and delays that restarting procurement would have triggered.
The GH¢11 billion arrears payment, which the minister described as the largest contractor settlement in recent memory, has restored confidence in the sector and unblocked a significant number of stalled sites.
The programme is structured around 12 major economic corridors divided into 54 lots to maximise contractor participation and accelerate deployment. More than 2,000 kilometres of roads across all 16 regions are currently under reconstruction or upgrading. Agbodza dismissed cost-per-kilometre comparisons as oversimplified, noting that several lots incorporate interchanges, bridges, drainage systems, and safety infrastructure that naturally elevate unit costs.
On value for money, the minister said initial surveys, designs, and costings are conducted in-house by state agencies, saving what he described as billions of cedis. Contractor proposals are subjected to independent assessments, with payments released only upon verified progress. The ministry has also partnered with the Ghana Institution of Surveyors to strengthen independent cost verification capacity. “We have established a system where no contractor will be paid without delivering measurable work,” Agbodza said.
The Minority Caucus, represented by Kennedy Osei Nyarko, Ranking Member of Parliament’s Roads and Transportation Committee, demanded full public disclosure of all Big Push contracts. The Minority pointed to the contradiction between the government’s actual procurement record and President John Mahama’s repeated public commitments to minimise sole sourcing, including a pledge made at the 2026 State of the Nation Address in February to introduce legislation banning the practice except in exceptional circumstances.
National Democratic Congress (NDC) Communications Officer and Ghana GoldBod Chief Executive Sammy Gyamfi defended the programme, arguing that sole sourcing under Section 40 of the Public Procurement Act is lawful on grounds of urgency, subject to Public Procurement Authority (PPA) approval, which he said all relevant contracts received.
The minister said 70 percent of Big Push projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2027, and invited ongoing parliamentary and public scrutiny as a necessary check on delivery.
