The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has uncovered significant governance and transparency gaps in the implementation of oil-funded projects across the country, warning that without urgent reforms, the same challenges could undermine the current government’s flagship infrastructure agenda.
Speaking during a national stakeholder meeting on the project “From Disclosure to Impact: Mobilizing Local Civil Society to Verify Published Extractive Data and Advocate for Accountable and Equitable Spending,” Programmes Officer Samuel Harrison-Cudjoe said a three-year verification exercise exposed systemic weaknesses in project planning, execution, and oversight.
He clarified that the findings are based on projects implemented under the past New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, beginning from 2022. However, he stressed that the report is intended to guide the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to avoid repeating the same pitfalls as it rolls out its “Big Push” infrastructure programme.
According to Mr. Harrison-Cudjoe, one of the most critical issues identified is the lack of citizen participation in project planning. He explained that many oil-funded projects are designed in Accra and imposed on districts without input from local communities or alignment with district medium-term development plans.
“This disconnect undermines accountability and leads to projects that do not necessarily reflect the needs of the people,” he noted.
The Coalition also highlighted opacity in the contracting process, revealing that district assemblies often do not have access to contract documents, making it difficult to supervise contractors or enforce project agreements.
“In most cases, contracts are awarded in Accra, and contractors move straight to site without the involvement of local authorities. Assemblies cannot hold them accountable because they don’t even have the contracts,” he explained.
The report further points to weak oversight systems and significant information asymmetry, where government officials possess critical project information while local communities remain largely unaware.
This imbalance, he warned, creates a breeding ground for corruption, including ghost and untraceable projects. “We identified projects that exist on paper with allocated funds, but on the ground, they simply do not exist,” he disclosed.
Mr. Harrison-Cudjoe cautioned that if these structural weaknesses are not addressed, the NDC government’s Big Push agenda risks suffering the same fate as past projects.
He said the Coalition is pushing for full disclosure of project details—including locations, timelines, and contract documents—to enable early-stage monitoring and meaningful citizen participation.
“Our aim is to ensure that the Big Push does not repeat the mistakes of the past. These findings should serve as a guide to build a more transparent, accountable, and inclusive system,” he stated.
He emphasised that Ghana must safeguard its oil revenues by ensuring they translate into tangible, verifiable development outcomes.
“It is our oil money, and we must be able to point to real projects that reflect its use,” he concluded.
