Govt’s sole-sourcing of ‘Big Push’ projects fully justified – Sammy Gyamfi

The CEO of Ghana GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, has defended the government’s use of sole sourcing for critical road projects under the Big Push initiative, dismissing allegations of abuse or inflated costs.

His statement comes in response to a report by The Fourth Estate, which questioned procurement processes under the Big Push Agenda, including the use of sole sourcing and potential cost inflation. The report also accused the Minister for Transport, Governs Kwame Agbodza, of overseeing 81 sole-sourced contracts worth more than GHS73 billion within seven months.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, Gyamfi said there was “not a scintilla of evidence” to support claims of wrongdoing, insisting that all sole-sourced contracts were lawful and properly approved.

He emphasised that all Big Push road contracts awarded through sole sourcing had received the necessary approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and underwent Value for Money audits, confirming that no irregularities existed.

“The urgency of these projects cannot be denied. All contracts were awarded to multiple competent and experienced contractors, and payments are strictly based on actual work certified by independent consultants,” he stated.

The statement also addressed misconceptions in media reports, particularly claims that the current government had abused sole-sourcing practices. According to Gyamfi, some reports mistakenly included 23 inherited road projects initially awarded by the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration as part of the current government’s sole-sourced contracts.

“These projects, including Suame Interchange, Ofankor-Nsawam road, and Adenta-Dodowa road, were not re-awarded but simply novated and funded under the Big Push programme. The Fourth Estate could have reported this more accurately,” Gyamfi said.

He added that while the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has previously criticised unjustified use of sole-sourcing, the party never claimed that all sole-sourcing was unlawful.