The Auditor-General says 87 per cent of road contracts under the Cocoa Road Improvement Programme (CRIP II) from 2015 to 2021 were awarded through ‘non-competitive routes’ . This has resulted in higher costs in the construction of those roads compared to contracts awarded through competitive tendering. This is revealed in the June 2023 Performance Audit Report on the Construction of Cocoa Roads within the period. The report said Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) awarded 266 road contracts for CRIP II, measuring a total length of 4,100km for rehabilitation, upgrading and construction in the selected cocoa growing areas. Out of this, 33 contracts were through competitive bidding, while 175 went through single source procurement with 58 going through restricted tendering, making majority of the road contracts passing through non-competitive routes. According to the report, the reasons provided by COCOBOD for using those procurement methods did not align with the requirements of the Public Procurement Act. It said despite the positive outcomes of completed cocoa roads, the audit identified areas that required improvement to ensure the sustainability of the Programme. The findings also indicated that COCOBOD did not prioritise road projects under the CRIP ll to match the amount of money available for the projects. Although COCOBOD sought input from subsidiaries and the Department of Feeder Roads to identify critical roads, there was no evidence of proper prioritisation. ‘This led to COCOBOD implementing more road projects than the budget for CRIP could support,’ the report said. It said the estimates COCOBOD used for the Cocoa road projects were not adequate for their implementation. The estimates were made based on line diagrams instead of detailed designs and as a result, there were significant variances between estimated costs and contract sums, ranging from 4.68 per cent to 99.7 per cent. According to the report, inspections revealed defects in completed roads, including potholes, disintegrating surfaces, and cracks in concrete drains and the consultants did not visit the project sites regularly and issued only a few defect notices to the contractors without follow-up for rectification. ‘The consultants cited non- payment of fees by COCOBOD as the reason for their inadequate supervision,’ it said. The road works in CRIP l and CRIP II experienced delays due to COCOBOD’s failure to ensure timely payment to contractors. The Board did not plan for alternative funding to bridge the gap and did not ensure that contractors worked diligently to complete the road works on schedule. It recommended that COCOBOD developed and implemented a detailed plan and strategy to prioritise road projects based on factors such as budget, road conditions, and cocoa production areas. It also said the General Services Department of the Board should endeavour to consult Ghana Highway Authority and the Department of Feeder Roads for the right adjustments to be made to the estimates when budgeting for the programme so that adequate resources would be allocated. The report also recommended that COCOBOD should seek expert advice to analyse procurement options and ensure better value for money. They should also prioritise supervision of the road works and provide the necessary resources to the consultants for active supervision and ensure rectification of defective works. ‘COCOBOD should suspend awarding new contracts until all existing contracts are completed and paid for,’ it added. To mitigate the challenge of the poor road conditions in cocoa-growing areas, the Government launched the Cocoa Road Improvement Programme (CRIP) in 2015 in collaboration with the Ministry of Roads and Highways with COCOBOD as the implementing agency and financier. The objective is to improve 2,900km of roads to ensure the smooth and fast conveyance of cocoa beans from the farms to the purchasing centres and seaports to reduce post-harvest losses.

Source: Ghana News Agency