Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has described the response from the Ministry of Roads and Highways to The Fourth Estate’s report on Big Push contracts as “hollow.”
He made the comments during the JoyNews Newsfile programme on Saturday, March 28.
Mr Braimah explained that the publication was based entirely on official data obtained from the Ministry’s Big Push Master Register, accessed after initial refusals under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
“We basically put out what the Roads Ministry itself gave us from their Big Push Master Register,” he noted, emphasising that the report reflected government records rather than speculation.
He added that the Fourth Estate had also written to other agencies, including the Ghana Highways Authority, to corroborate information and ensure transparency.
According to him, the Ministry’s attempt to downplay the figures, including claims that only 44% of contracts were sole-sourced, failed to address the broader concerns highlighted in the investigative report.
“The response from the Roads Minister did not engage with the substance of our findings. It was hollow and did not clarify how such large sums were awarded, often through sole sourcing,” Mr Braimah said, calling for more accountability and open disclosure in government procurement processes.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com