Sulemana Braimah, the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), has revealed how some companies awarded sole-sourced contracts under the government’s Big Push infrastructure programme have insignificant staff.
According to Sulemana Braimah, documents provided by the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Braimah noted that one of the companies awarded sole-sourced Big Push contracts has four workers; another has one worker.
Sulemana Braimah detailed that the company with just one worker was awarded the Big Push sole-sourced contract worth GHS146million.
Speaking on JoyNews Newsfile on Saturday, 28 March, Sulemana Braimah stated, “One of the companies awarded sole-sourced Big Push contracts has four workers; another has one worker.”
“This is Senam Ghana, they have four workers, sole-sourced for a big push contract, we are told no wheelbarrows. There is even one here that says one worker. This is Build Managers Limited. It is here in the contract that your ministry has signed, they are doing a contract worth GHS 146 million. There is even a lot about this contract, the GHS146 million, GHS30 million is allocated for the maintenance of the department of feeder Roads headquarters”.
He explained that the figures were obtained directly from the Ministry’s Big Push Master Register.
Sulemana Braimah further detailed that the recent report by The Fourth Estate, a project of MFWA, which highlighted concerns over sole-sourced contracts, was based on official records from the road ministry after they initially requested access to the documents under the Right to Information Act but were denied, which lead to an appeal to obtain them.
His comments come on the heels of The Fourth Estate publication, which suggested President John Dramani Mahama and his government have been paying lip service in terms of promises to minimise sole-source procurement to encourage competitive bidding.
President John Mahama, on numerous occasions, has reiterated his government’s commitment to make single-source procurement a rare exception rather than the norm.
However, after one year in office, the report by The Fourth Estate has unearthed that the Road Ministry awarded 81 sole-sourced contracts worth over GHS73 billion in 7 months.
The Fourth Estate stated, “Data available to The Fourth Estate indicates that in the last seven months, the ministry has awarded 107 road contracts. Contrary to the President’s promise to ensure competitiveness and transparency in the awarding of public contracts, not a single one of 107 contracts was awarded based on competitive tendering.
A whopping 81 out of the 107 road contracts worth over GHS73 billion were awarded through sole-sourcing. The remaining 26 contracts worth about GHS8 billion were awarded through selective tendering. This means over 90% of the amount of money expected to be spent on roads under the Big Push programme so far was given out through sole-sourcing.
Despite this glaring contrast, the majority leader and leader of government business in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, audaciously proclaimed to Parliament on March 11, 2026, that “let it be known, the era of the sole-sourced contract is dead.”
It will be recalled that President John Dramani Mahama has said his government’s flagship Big Push infrastructure programme is for competent and well-resourced contractors, not wheelbarrow contractors.
According to John Mahama, some friends have approached him to secure contracts under the scheme, but he made it clear to them that the project was designed to accelerate large-scale national infrastructure projects.
Speaking at the official launch of the programme at Afienya in the Greater Accra region on Tuesday, September 16, John Mahama stated, “There are a few wheelbarrow contractors who have come to me saying, ‘Oh, I hear they are distributing projects under the Big Push.
I want one.’ I say, ‘My friend, this is not for wheelbarrow contractors.’ You are my friend, but I won’t give it to you because it is not meant for wheelbarrow contractors,” he stated.
President Mahama further added that every region in Ghana will benefit from his government’s flagship Big Push infrastructure programme.
The president explained that the project is designed to revolutionise Ghana’s road network and improve national connectivity.
Watch the video below:
Big Push Sole-Sourced: There was a company in the Big Push contract who has just 4 employees 😂
— Onipa nua 🇬🇭💰❤️ (@mylo_melo) March 28, 2026
– Sulemana Braimah. pic.twitter.com/neoh0EUv9b