Contractual Issues, Corruption, and Development in Ghana: A Critical Analysis
Ghana, often celebrated as one of Africa’s most stable democracies, continues to grapple with persistent challenges at the intersection of contractual governance, corruption, and national development. While progress has been made in democratic consolidation, systemic weaknesses in public contracting, especially in procurement practices, continue to undermine effective development outcomes. These challenges is predated as far back independence years. According to Aryeetey and Kanbur (2017), at the time of independence, the government then led by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah had 250 million Pounds Sterling at its disposal and had to continue with the agenda of infrastructure, expansion and provision of basic service that had been started in the period before independence with a population approximately to 6.7 million. What a start by Ghana’s development…one burning question which continues to baffles many younger generation and citizens of today is that did we start well as a country called Ghana?
Contractual Issues in Ghana’s Governance Framework
Contracts remain the backbone of Ghana’s development agenda, particularly in infrastructure, energy, and natural resource management. However, the persistent abuse of procurement processes especially under the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) Ghana has weakened the credibility of public contracting. The law clearly stipulates that sole sourcing should only be used under exceptional circumstances, such as emergencies or when only one supplier exists. Yet, in practice, this provision is frequently stretched beyond its intended scope. Poor contract structuring, weak enforcement, and political interference have led to inflated costs, delays, and abandoned projects. Case Study: Sole Sourcing in Ghana’s Road Construction (“Big Push” Programme), a recent and highly instructive example is the controversy surrounding road construction contracts under the government’s “Big Push” infrastructure initiative. Investigations by civil society and the Media Foundation for West Africa revealed that within a seven-month period (2025–2026), over 100 road contracts were awarded, with a striking majority done through sole sourcing or what the party faithful refer to as restrictive tendering. Specifically, 81 out of 107 contracts valued at over GH¢73 billion were awarded without competitive tendering. This means that over 90% of the financial value of these contracts bypassed competitive procurement processes, raising serious concerns about transparency and value for money.
Author: Barima Akwasi Amankwaa, Development Practitioner and PhD Student At Binghamton University, New York, USA
This development is particularly significant because it contradicts earlier political commitments made by National Democratic Congress (NDC) to minimize sole sourcing. Public officials had previously acknowledged that such practices: inflate project costs, reduce competition and encourage corruption at the highest level in our national development.
Civil society organizations, including Media Foundation for West Africa, have argued that the scale of sole sourcing in the road sector raises legitimate governance concerns, even if not all cases can be immediately classified as corruption. Critics further argue that excessive reliance on sole sourcing: weakens accountability mechanisms, limits public scrutiny and transparency and creates opportunities for elite capture of state resources especially among political party members or those who contributed towards the party’s coming to power.
On the other hand, government officials have defended the approach, citing urgency in addressing Ghana’s infrastructure deficit and the need for rapid project execution. Granted there is urgency; which criteria is used to define the urgency and by what stretch of imagination is that project urgent bearing in mind that it has existed for many years and there was no urgency to that effect therefore what has changed? Nevertheless, these procurements highlights a fundamental tension in public procurement: efficiency versus transparency. While speed is important, bypassing competitive processes often comes at the cost of accountability.
Corruption as a Structural Constraint:
Corruption remains deeply embedded in Ghana’s contracting environment. Institutions such as Transparency International, the media and many other institutions consistently highlight procurement as one of the most corruption-prone sectors. In contractual terms, corruption manifests through bribery and kickbacks in contract awards, political favoritism and patronage and collusion between contractors and public officials
The road sector case study demonstrates how procurement discretion, especially under sole sourcing can easily become a gateway for such practices, even when legality is claimed.
Impact on National Development:
The implications of contractual inefficiencies and corruption are profound:
1. Resource Misallocation: Funds are diverted into overpriced or low-quality projects, reducing the effectiveness of public spending.
2. Infrastructure Deficits: Poorly executed contracts result in deteriorating roads, abandoned projects, and maintenance burdens.
3. Erosion of Public Trust: When citizens perceive unfairness in contract awards, confidence in governance declines.
4. Reduced Investment Confidence: Investors are discouraged by opaque procurement systems and unpredictable contractual enforcement.
For example, past infrastructure projects such as the Circle Interchange popularly known as Circle Dubai, Flower Pot Interchange, Kaneshie interchange, Tema motor way expansion just to mentioned a few have all come and faced scrutiny over significant cost escalations, illustrating how weak contract oversight can inflate national expenditure.
Institutional and Legal Responses
Ghana has established institutions such as: Public Procurement Authority Ghana, Office of the Special Prosecutor Ghana and Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). Additionally, laws like the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) Ghana aim to improve fiscal discipline however, the effectiveness of these frameworks is often undermined by weak enforcement, political interference and limited sanctions for violations. Some of these institutions seeming exist on paper but in terms of functionality they are politicized and their roles are limited due to the political interference.
The Way Forward
To address these challenges, Ghana must pursue structural reforms:
❖ Strict Limitation of Sole Sourcing: enforce procurement laws to ensure sole sourcing remains an exception, not the norm.
❖ Digital Procurement Systems: expand e-procurement to reduce human discretion and increase transparency.
❖ Independent Oversight: strengthen civil society and parliamentary scrutiny of large-scale contracts.
❖ Sanctions and Accountability: ensure that procurement breaches lead to real consequences.
❖ Capacity Building: improve technical expertise in contract drafting, negotiation, and monitoring.
Furthermore, to effectively address these contractual issues and corruption, Ghana must adopt a multi-pronged approach:
❖ Strengthening Institutional Capacity: Regulatory bodies must be adequately resourced and empowered to enforce procurement laws and monitor contract execution.
❖ Enhancing Transparency: The adoption of digital procurement systems (e-procurement) can reduce human discretion and increase accountability. In America where I am currently studying, access to information is seen as one of the tenants of democracy. Because without it citizens are vulnerable in terms of good governance and accountability process.
❖ Promoting Civic Engagement: Civil society organizations and the media should play a more active role in monitoring public contracts and exposing corruption. That is why the work of Media foundation for West Africa, the other media houses and other civil society organization should continue to hold their integrity and respect in high esteem.
❖ Ensuring Political Will: Sustainable change requires strong commitment from political leaders to uphold integrity and prosecute offenders, regardless of status.
❖ Capacity Building: Training public officials in contract management and ethical standards is essential to improving governance outcomes. There should be that separation of power, roles and responsibilities. Politicians are not technocrats and technocrats should not play to the tunes of politicians.
Conclusion
The recent road construction sole-sourcing controversy provides a powerful lens through which to understand Ghana’s broader governance challenges. While legal frameworks exist, their inconsistent application continues to enable inefficiencies and potential corruption.
Ultimately, Ghana’s development depends not only on the volume of contracts awarded but on how transparently, competitively, and efficiently those contracts are managed. Without meaningful reforms, contractual governance will remain a critical bottleneck to sustainable national development. Contractual inefficiencies and corruption are deeply intertwined challenges that continue to hinder Ghana’s development. While the country has made commendable efforts to address these issues, much remains to be done. Strengthening institutions, enforcing laws, and fostering a culture of accountability are critical steps toward ensuring that public resources are used effectively to promote sustainable development and improve the lives of all Ghanaians. There are many developmental issues facing the country Ghana and we need to redirect our little resources for other urgent needs. Like the Akan’s will literally say “ if you don’t get something for your in-law, please, don’t steal from him or her”. At least if for the sake of development politicians would like to “steal” they should minimize it. If not for anything chop some let the vulnerable voter in society also benefit. It is time the individual voter have the understand his or her vote is bringing some development on their way not just a myth. God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong….
The writer is Barima Akwasi Amankwaah
A Development Practitioner and a PHD student at Binghamton University,
New York, USA.
Article Sent By Michael Ofosu-Afriyie, Kumasi.
