A leading Ghanaian policy analyst is calling for the outright abolition of sole sourcing in public procurement, arguing that the practice has long served as a mechanism for politically connected firms to secure state contracts at public expense.
Kofi Bentil, Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, made the call as controversy deepens over the Ministry of Roads and Highways’ use of sole sourcing in awarding contracts under the government’s Big Push infrastructure programme. An investigation by The Fourth Estate, published on Tuesday, March 24, reported that 81 sole-sourced contracts valued at over GH₵73 billion were awarded within seven months under the Big Push initiative, and that approximately 76% of contracts awarded between September 2025 and February 2026 were through sole sourcing.
The report landed with particular force given that President John Mahama had pledged, during his 2026 State of the Nation Address, to bring legislation to Parliament to ban sole-sourced contracts except in exceptional circumstances, a commitment he had repeated on several occasions since taking office.
Bentil’s response to the controversy went beyond calls for reform. In a post shared on social media, he argued that the practice should be scrapped entirely. “SOLE SOURCING: The excuse our politicians have used to steal billions in corrupt deals for decades. I’ve said and I repeat, abolish it altogether! If the item truly has only a sole source that will become obvious in the tender process!!!” he wrote.
His core argument is procedural. If only one supplier genuinely exists for a given contract, an open competitive tender will arrive at that conclusion by itself. Removing sole sourcing as a designated category, he contends, eliminates the discretion that officials exercise when classifying contracts, and closes a channel that has repeatedly been stretched beyond its legal limits.
Under Ghana’s Public Procurement Act, Act 663, sole sourcing is permitted only in narrow circumstances, including when goods or services are exclusively available from a single provider, or when an emergency makes other procurement methods impractical. Section 40 of the law permits sole sourcing under urgent circumstances, subject to approval by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA).
The government has defended its use of the method. Roads and Highways Minister Governs Kwame Agbodza, addressing Parliament on March 24, maintained that only 44% of major contracts under the Big Push programme were sole-sourced, and that over 400 contracts had been awarded through open competitive bidding, which he described as unprecedented for the sector. Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Sammy Gyamfi also defended the approach, saying all sole-sourced Big Push contracts received PPA approval and underwent value for money audits.
Critics remain unconvinced. Programme Manager for the Independent Journalism Project at the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Kwaku Krobea Asante, warned that the growing reliance on sole sourcing by successive governments reflects a troubling pattern where procurement reform pledges tend to be abandoned once in power.
The controversy has also drawn attention to a separate procurement episode. The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has faced public criticism over a reported GH₵11 million office renovation contract awarded through sole sourcing, with officials denying any wrongdoing.
Bentil’s call adds to pressure on the Mahama administration to follow through on its stated commitment to competitive procurement. Whether that commitment translates into legislation, or whether sole sourcing endures in practice as it has under previous governments, now forms one of the central accountability questions surrounding the Big Push programme.
