The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has become irretrievably trapped by its words about sole-sourced road contracts in the country.
While in opposition, the NDC pledged to outlaw sole-sourced contracts to road contractors except in extremely rare situations, accusing the Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of “stealing from the state.”
But after just a year in office, the NDC government led by President John Dramani Mahama has broken its solemn promise by awarding possibly scandalous sole-sourced contracts worth billions of cedis to some companies who have limited expertise carrying out large-scale road construction.
It appears that one to four employees were listed on the SSNIT clearance certificates of several of the firms who obtained the lucrative contracts.
A number of reputable Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are raising severe concerns regarding the contracts’ transparency, potential inflated costs, sole-sourcing, and the selective bidding of contracts to accused loyalists of the ruling party.
In a report released on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, The Fourth Estate, a public interest and accountability investigative journalism project of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), revealed that a staggering 81 of the 107 road contracts valued at more than GH¢73 billion were granted through sole-sourcing.
The remaining 26 contracts, totalling approximately GH¢8 billion, were awarded through selective tendering, according to MFWA Executive Director Mr. Sulemana Braimah. This means that more than 90% of the money anticipated to be spent on roads under the “Big Push” program so far was distributed through sole-sourcing.
The MFWA Boss made some startling disclosures on the NDC’s sole-sourced contracts while speaking on the JoyNews Television show “Newsfile” on Saturday.
Just ten years after the project was first finished, he brought up the repair of the Dodo Pepesu-Nkwanta road, which has since sparked public discussion over growing infrastructure expenses and value for money.
He noted that this road was first built in 2016 as a European Union-funded project by a Burkinabe contractor, Groupe Kanazoe, through a competitive international procurement process at a cost of €25.9 million.
In the present day, GH¢804 million has been awarded for the rehabilitation of the same route. Mr. Sulemana Braimah noted that when converted, this amount surpasses €63 million, about three times the initial building cost.
When the project was first built, it was praised as a major accomplishment in road infrastructure.
When it was finished, President Mahama even called it “pleasing to the eye,” indicating that local contractors should take a cue from the standards used in similar projects.
But soon after the road was put into service, questions concerning its longevity surfaced.
In a video, investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni pointed up early indications of deterioration and questioned the quality of the job done because experts said an asphalted road should last about 30 years.
Manasseh further disclosed that in 2012, President Mahama received a Ford Expedition from Djibril Kanazoe, the President and Director-General of Groupe Kanazoe, following his acquisition of two building contracts.
The first cost €650,000 to construct a wall around a plot of land for Ghana’s Embassy in Burkina Faso, while the second cost €25.9 million to build the Dodo Pepeso-Nkwanta road.
Additionally, the Fourth Estate disclosed what it called a “small one” that was awarded under even a “Restricted Tender.”
Mr. Sulemana Braimah claims that the cost of the surface dressing, or “Sapitii,” upgrade of the Apeguso-Mpakadan Feeder Road, which was signed on November 25, 2025, was astounding.
“Road Length: 9km
Contract Sum: GH¢146,511,649
Cost per KM: GH¢16.27million ($1.47million)
Contractor: Build Managers Ltd.
“What is even mind-blowing is how they arrived at the contract sum. A whopping GH¢37.5million is allocated as ‘Maintenance of Department of Feeder Roads Headquarters.’ Maintenance ooo not construction of a new office. And guess what? This is not the only contract with allocation for Maintenance of the same office,” Mr Sulemana Braimah revealed.
He further revealed that the SSNIT clearance certificate for the aforementioned contractor only listed one employee.
Source: newsthemegh.com