The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GoldBod Ghana, Sammy Gyamfi, has defended the use of sole sourcing in the award of major road projects, describing it as lawful and necessary under urgent circumstances.
His comments follow concerns raised in a publication by the The Fourth Estate over the procurement processes used for the government’s Big Push road projects.
Mr Gyamfi in a post on Facebook explained that the poor state of roads in the country poses a serious national security risk, noting that bad roads have contributed to fatal accidents and criminal activities such as armed robbery.
He indicated that preliminary processes for the projects, including surveying, designing and costing, took about seven months to complete.
According to him, using the national competitive tendering process would have caused further delays, potentially pushing completion dates beyond 2028.
He added that competitive tendering processes can take several months, citing the ongoing road toll project procurement, which he noted has lasted nearly a year due to its complexity.
Mr Gyamfi stressed that Ghana’s procurement law allows for sole sourcing under specific conditions such as urgency, subject to approval by the Public Procurement Authority.
He explained that the law does not prohibit sole sourcing but rather frowns on its unjustified use.
He argued that there is no evidence to support claims that the sole sourcing of the Big Push road projects was unlawful or led to inflated costs.
According to him, all the projects awarded through sole sourcing received prior approval from the Public Procurement Authority and were justified on grounds of urgency.
He further stated that value for money audits were conducted and that contracts were awarded to multiple competent contractors with the capacity to complete the projects on time.
Mr Gyamfi noted that payments for the projects are based on actual work done and certified by independent consultants.
He clarified that 23 out of the 84 projects under the Big Push initiative were inherited from the previous New Patriotic Party administration and were originally awarded through sole sourcing.
According to him, the current government only continued those projects by maintaining the contractors and providing funding, rather than re awarding them.
Mr Gyamfi accused the Fourth Estate of including those inherited projects in its list of sole sourced contracts attributed to the current administration, describing the approach as misleading.
He maintained that the party has always opposed the abuse of sole sourcing and not the practice itself, insisting that the current use of the method is justified.
Mr Gyamfi questioned the criticism, arguing that comparing the present situation to past concerns about sole sourcing is misplaced.
By: Jacob Aggrey