MFWA Demands Full Disclosure of Over 1,000 Road Contracts From Roads Ministry

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has called on the Ministry of Roads and Highways to publish the complete list of more than 1,000 road contracts it claims were awarded through open competitive tendering, challenging the government’s defence of its Big Push infrastructure programme.

Sulemana Braimah, the MFWA’s Executive Director, issued the challenge on Monday after the Minister of State for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, mounted a spirited defence of the ministry’s procurement practices at the Government Accountability Series in Accra.

Mr Kwakye Ofosu had told the forum that of 1,441 road projects awarded in 2025 and 2026, a total of 1,301 were procured through competitive tendering, representing more than 90 per cent of all contracts. The figures were presented in response to an investigative report by The Fourth Estate and the MFWA, which alleged that procurement rules were bypassed through extensive sole-sourcing under the government’s flagship road infrastructure initiative.

Mr Braimah, however, was not persuaded. Speaking on Citi FM, he challenged the ministry to make public the projects being referenced, arguing that the contracts highlighted in the investigation involved major infrastructure works worth hundreds of millions of cedis, not the smaller maintenance contracts that might make up the bulk of the 1,301 figure.

“I am challenging the Ministry of Roads to publish the full list of the 1,000-plus projects that they claim they have awarded and let us see whether that would amount to anywhere close to the amount being discussed,” Mr Braimah said.

He pointed out that the investigative report focused on substantial projects, including bridge construction works under the Big Push initiative, rather than minor contracts such as road markings, median clearing or pothole repairs. The implication, he suggested, is that the government’s aggregate figures may be obscuring the scale of sole-sourcing on high-value contracts.

The MFWA director described the government’s response to the investigation as disappointing, adding that the minister’s counter-claims, if accurately reported, raised serious concerns about how the government was addressing the issues highlighted in the report.

The exchange underscores a growing tension between the government and transparency advocates over the management of Ghana’s ambitious road infrastructure programme, which has been a centrepiece of the administration’s development agenda. Questions about procurement transparency in large-scale public works have long been a flashpoint in Ghanaian governance, with civil society organisations consistently calling for greater openness in the award of government contracts.

The ball is now in the Roads Ministry’s court. Whether it takes up Mr Braimah’s challenge to publish the full contract list may well determine how this debate unfolds in the coming weeks.

Image Source: MYJOYONLINE