By: Love Wilhelmina Abanonave
The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, Sulemana Braimah has called for full public disclosure of contracts awarded under government’s Big Push infrastructure programme.
He insists that, citizens have the right to know the names of contractors, projects awarded, and total costs involved to ensure transparency and accountability in government procurement.
Speaking on Keypoints on April 4, he stated that, “our goal is not to undermine the initiative but to ensure citizens know who is doing the work, the projects awarded and the total cost involved”.
Mr. Braimah’s call comes after The Fourth Estate, an investigative journalism platform, revealed that none of the 107 contracts awarded under the programme were subjected to competitive bidding rather through sole sourcing. The report also highlighted concerns over possible cost inflation and irregularities in contract awards.
Minister of State in charge of Government Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu also stated that President Mahama will review the report and work on addressing the concerns raised. He emphasized that the government respects The Fourth Estate and values its role in scrutinizing government procurement practices.
“Government has enormous respect for the Fourth Estate and does not consider the investigative body a hostile entity”.
The controversy surrounds the use of sole sourcing in awarding contracts, with 81 out of 107 contracts being awarded without competitive bidding. The government has defended its approach, stating that sole sourcing was used in urgent circumstances.
