Government Says Roads Ministry Did Not Breach Procurement Laws in Big Push Contracts

The Ministry of Roads and Highways did not breach any provisions of the Public Procurement Act in awarding contracts under the government’s Big Push infrastructure programme, a 72-page presidential review report has concluded.

Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Government Spokesperson and Minister for Government Communications, said on Sunday that the review found the Ministry’s use of single-source procurement in selected contracts was lawful, justified and consistent with the provisions of Act 663 as amended.

“The Ministry followed the procedure required by law in awarding the Big Push contracts system. Neither did they abuse the single-source process,” Kwakye Ofosu said.

A Narrow Exception, Not a Pattern

The numbers tell a story that is more nuanced than the political debate surrounding the programme. Of the 1,441 road sector contracts awarded by the Ministry, only 140 — representing 4.5 per cent of the total — fell under the Big Push initiative. Within that subset, 47.14 per cent were awarded through single-source procurement, meaning the remaining majority were competitively tendered.

Across the entire roads portfolio, competitive tendering accounted for more than 90 per cent of all contracts awarded. The data suggests that single-source procurement was an exception applied to a specific, time-sensitive programme rather than a systemic departure from normal procurement practice.

The Case for Speed

The government’s justification rests on the premise that the Big Push was conceived as an accelerated infrastructure programme designed to address what officials describe as severe road deficits across the country. Traditional competitive bidding processes, the argument goes, would have introduced delays that would have compounded hardship in communities dependent on those roads.

Several factors were cited in the report to justify the urgency. A comparative timeline analysis indicated that alternative procurement methods would have added significant lead times. Public and national security considerations, particularly around critical transport corridors, also weighed in the decision. The government further argued that fiscal risk mitigation — preventing cost escalation driven by inflation and prolonged project execution — supported the use of single-source procurement where speed was paramount.

The 2024 NEC manifesto and subsequent government policy pronouncements were cited as the political and legal foundation for the approach, grounding the procurement decisions in a democratically mandated policy framework.

Context in Government Spending

The procurement review comes at a time when the government is managing multiple fiscal pressures. Recent treasury bill auctions have shown healthy oversubscription but rising borrowing costs, a combination that underscores the tension between the government’s ambitious infrastructure spending plans and the need to maintain fiscal discipline. The Big Push programme, with its emphasis on rapid delivery and cost containment, sits squarely at the intersection of those competing priorities.

Political Implications

The procurement allegations had become a focal point for opposition criticism of the Mahama government’s infrastructure programme. By releasing a detailed 72-page review, the government is seeking to put the matter to rest with documentary evidence rather than rhetorical defence alone.

The challenge will be whether the report’s conclusions satisfy public concerns about transparency in government contracting. Procurement controversies have a long shelf life in Ghanaian politics, and the opposition is unlikely to abandon a line of attack that resonates with voters sceptical of how public funds are spent. What the review does establish, however, is a documented record that the government believes will withstand scrutiny should the matter be revisited in Parliament or the courts.

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