The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has hit back at allegations by Fourth Estate regarding the awarding of Big Push road projects, with party spokesperson Sammy Gyamfi providing a detailed refutation of the claims.
According to the GoldBod CEO, that Ghana’s deplorable road conditions constitute a major national security threat, contributing to fatal accidents and armed robberies. He explained that the surveying, designing, and costing of the Big Push road projects alone took the Ministry of Roads approximately seven months. He argued that resorting to the National Competitive Tendering process could have added months of delay, potentially pushing the completion of most projects beyond 2028.
“Competitive tendering in Ghana can sometimes last for months,” Gyamfi noted, citing the Road Toll project, which has faced delays due to its complex tendering process.
On the legality of the procurement method, Sammy Gyamfi clarified that Section 40 of the Public Procurement Law allows for single-source procurement in cases of urgency, with the approval of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA). He stressed that “sole sourcing is lawful,” adding that the NDC has historically opposed only unjustified abuse of sole sourcing, not the process itself.
Gyamfi refuted Fourth Estate’s claims, stating there was no evidence provided of legal breaches or inflated costs in the Big Push projects. He added that all contracts awarded through sole sourcing had prior PPA approval, underwent Value for Money audits, and were awarded to multiple competent contractors to ensure timely completion.
He also highlighted that 23 out of 84 Big Push projects—including the Suame Interchange, Ofankor-Nsawam, and Adenta-Dodowa roads—were inherited from the previous NPP government, which had awarded them via sole sourcing without dedicated funding. “This government simply novated the projects, maintained the contractors, and provided funding under the Big Push policy,” he said.
Gyamfi criticized the publication for mixing past and current projects, calling it a case of “comparing oranges with apples.” He questioned whether the NDC’s past opposition to unjustified sole sourcing should automatically condemn its current, lawful use in urgent road projects.
