The Minority Caucus in Parliament has raised serious concerns regarding the transparency of road projects awarded under the government’s flagship “Big Push” program.
Hon. Kennedy Nyarko Osei, the Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport and MP for Akyem Swedru, has cast doubt on the procedural integrity of the initiative, citing a lack of public information.
Addressing the Parliamentary Press Corps on Tuesday, March 24, the Akyem Swedru legislator clarified that the Minority does not oppose the Big Push policy itself.
However, they are deeply concerned about the process used to award the initial 50 projects, which are estimated to cost the country approximately GH₵50 billion.
Hon. Osei accused the government of making decisions behind closed doors, noting that conducting such high-value transactions away from public scrutiny inevitably breeds suspicion, even if no wrongdoing has occurred.
”We are urging the government to act in the interest of transparency and publish the details of the 50 contracts under the Big Push program especially the contractors involved, the scope of work, and how much it is costing the Ghanaian taxpayer per kilometer,” he stated.
The Ranking Member emphasized that publishing these details would allow Ghanaians to independently assess the projects against established benchmarks for asphaltic overlays and construction costs.
He asserted that because these are major infrastructure works involving substantial public resources, the government should have advertised the tenders or, at the very least, made the award details public.
The Minority is specifically demanding the disclosure of the identities of the construction firms involved, the specific scope of work assigned to each contractor and the unit cost per kilometer for each project.
Hon. Osei stressed that transparency is the cornerstone of good governance and by making this information accessible, the government can avoid unnecessary suspicion and strengthen public confidence in the implementation of its flagship initiatives.
He maintained that providing these details is a “reasonable and necessary step” to ensure the Big Push program truly serves the interest of the Ghanaian people.
By 1960news.com
