Mr. Kwame Governs Agbodza, Minister for Roads and Highways, has defended the government’s Big Push infrastructure programme, stressing that most contracts were awarded through competitive processes and that procurement adhered to legal requirements.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Mr. Agbodza said only 44 per cent of major contracts were sole-sourced, with over 400 contracts awarded through open competitive bidding. He noted that sole sourcing was applied selectively, primarily for urgent projects and in cases where the government inherited a backlog of abandoned works.
“All projects under the Big Push Agenda have been published on the ministry’s website,” the Minister said, countering claims of a procurement scandal.
His statement came in response to investigative reports by The Fourth Estate, which alleged widespread sole sourcing and possible cost inflation, including 81 sole-sourced contracts valued at over GH¢73 billion in seven months.
Mr. Agbodza emphasized that the government employed a mix of procurement methods appropriate to the scale and urgency of the projects, asserting that transparency and accountability were central to the programme.
He added that the Big Push Agenda aimed to accelerate national infrastructure development while addressing inherited delays, ensuring that legal and procedural standards guided every stage of implementation.
