By The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has said their attempts to access information on the government’s Big Push contracts were initially rejected, forcing the organisation to appeal before the records could be released.
He made the disclosure on the JoyNews Newsfile programme on Saturday, March 28.
Mr Braimah explained that The Fourth Estate, a media outlet under the MFWA, had relied on the Right to Information (RTI) Act to request details of the contracts, but their initial application was denied.
“We followed all legal procedures under the RTI, yet the information was withheld. We had to appeal before the agencies complied,” he said.
He added that the team also wrote directly to other agencies, including the Ghana Highways Authority, to secure documents related to the projects.
“Persistence is critical. Journalists must use every available avenue to ensure transparency and accountability in public procurement,” he noted.
The call for transparency follows reporting by The Fourth Estate highlighting concerns over procurement in the Big Push programme, particularly the extensive use of sole sourcing and potential cost inflation.
The report noted that the Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, oversaw 81 sole-sourced contracts valued at over GH¢73 billion in seven months, though the Minister has since stated that only 44% of major contracts were awarded through sole sourcing.
